PLEASE SIGN ONLY IF YOU ARE A PROPERTY OWNER OR RESIDENT IN THE "PROTECTIVE COVENANT" ZONE OF RANCHO SANTA FE, CALIFORNIA
Residential Covenants have been used to segregate people based on race, color, religion, national origin, gender or economic status, i.e. anyone who is not a white Christian. The Rancho Santa Fe CA "Protective Covenant" originated as a restrictive covenant (see Sec. 2) to prevent Jews from buying property. It allowed people of color only if they were servants who lived on the property. Otherwise people of color were to be out of the "Covenant" by dusk or they were subject to arrest. It was meant to ensure Rancho Santa Fe would be a homogenous community—economically, ethnically, and racially.
While no longer legally enforceable, covenants still connote the perception of a racially restricted community. Real or perceived, this term has no place in a community's description or real estate advertising. It needs to be removed. It's time.
Therefore: We, the undersigned, as owners and residents in Rancho Santa Fe, ask the Rancho Santa Fe Association to eliminate the term "Protective Covenant" as the descriptor of a particular area of Ranch Santa Fe and replace it with "The Osuna" in recognition of the original property owner of Rancho Santa Fe, and we further request that real estate companies remove the term "Protective Covenant" from their advertising.
