RANCHO MURIETA, CA (MPG) - The long-awaited renovation of Rancho Murieta’s South Gate entrance moved closer to construction Aug. 18 as the Rancho Murieta Association Board reviewed updated design concepts and authorized staff to proceed with portions of the project that the maintenance department can complete.

Maintenance Manager Troy Schaffner said the concepts presented to the board build upon plans previously developed by Architectural Review Manager Mark Parsons. The large drawing displayed behind the directors showed both a ground-level view of the proposed entrance and an overhead view.

Schaffner said Parsons had revised the design of the archways over the traffic lanes and proposed replacing the entrance’s existing tile roofs with pergola-style structures.

“The upper part of that drawing there on the back wall behind the directors is the top-down view of that,” Schaffner said. “And you can see that he’s changed the type of archway entrance that there would be for traffic, along with the type of roof that’s being proposed, changing, frankly, the existing tile that’s there now to this pergola style.”

The project would update the entrance’s architecture and landscaping while reducing water use. The earlier concept reviewed by the board in May called for removing turf, installing shrubs and perennial plants, resurfacing the entrance walls with stucco, incorporating stacked stone and adding a smaller water feature. The color palette and stonework were intended to create greater visual consistency between the North and South gates.

During the members’ open forum, resident Tom Shewchuk questioned whether a water feature should remain in the design.

“A water feature when this community is worried about water might not be the right message to send to the community,” he said. Shewchuk also asked whether the redesigned entrance would use recycled water to irrigate the new landscaping, as was done at the North Gate.

Schaffner said staff would like to move ahead during the current budget year with demolition and other work that could be performed before the complete design is constructed. That work includes underground electrical improvements and irrigation connections.

“We would like to try to move forward with some of the other aspects of working on that, which would be part of our budget for this year,” Schaffner said. “All those demolition-type things and some of the electrical underground installation aspects of it, some of the irrigation connections that would still fit into this year’s budget.”

Several images were presented to help directors and residents visualize the possibilities. The first showed the South Gate as it appears today. The second was a more realistic rendering of Parsons’ architectural drawing. Another version added proposed lighting and landscaping.

The final image offered a variation that would retain the general shape of the existing wall rather than reconstructing it in a substantially different form.

Schaffner said that alternative would involve resurfacing the wall with the stucco proposed by Parsons and adding the proposed roof treatment, stonework and updated lighting. Landscaping would consist primarily of native plants, with possible participation from community groups interested in helping with the project.

“The final image there that I’m talking about now would continue the current shape, but it would be refaced and would be brought more up to date and have some more up-to-date lighting included,” Schaffner said.

That option, he added, “would possibly be a little bit cheaper and maybe possibly faster to put together for us.”

Schaffner said all of the concepts were being presented for the board’s consideration and did not indicate that a final design had been selected.

Board President Pat O’Hern emphasized that staff had already performed extensive site preparation, although residents driving through the entrance might not recognize how much had been accomplished.

“Some people have gone by and said, ‘When are you going to start that?’” O’Hern said. “And actually, that’s been done and it’s leveled off so it would look halfway decent when you pull in. Some people don’t realize that they did weeks and weeks and weeks of work to try and get that to where it is right now.”

The board unanimously authorized the maintenance department to proceed with portions of the project it can complete, including demolition and site preparation; concrete, wall and planter work; electrical and irrigation improvements; landscape preparation; and the installation of plants, decorative rock, bark and related materials.

North Gate Repairs

In a separate action, the board unanimously approved sending a proposal from CRBR for repairs to the North Gate entrance to RMA’s insurance carrier for review. The entrance was damaged when a vehicle struck the structure shortly before midnight May 17. Schaffner said CRBR’s proposal was significantly less expensive than a second proposal and that a structural engineer had prepared the scope of work. General Manager Vicky Lentz said the proposal was somewhat higher than the insurance carrier’s initial estimate. She said RMA’s carrier would pursue reimbursement from the responsible party through subrogation.

Other topics

Other topics discussed at the meeting, including security, transparency, a new amenity for Stonehouse Park, and a comment from a pickleball player, will be covered in a separate story to be published Sept. 11.