Our View: Bonfante Gardens is a beautiful park and an asset to
the community, but it is a venture that must succeed or fail on its
own merits
This time the request for another special favor from the Bonfante Gardens Theme Park Board of Directors doesn’t involve selling off a huge swath of land to build 100 or so homes. It involves just four home sites, potentially, on almost six acres across Hecker Pass Highway from the entrance to the horticulture theme park. The Board hopes to net $1.5 million or so to prop up the park’s reserve fund. In order to do that, the city must approve a zoning change that would allow housing.
And when that money runs out? Well, there are a few more parcels that could be rezoned for housing and sold. Meanwhile, the directors say they are looking for funds from a charitable benefactor or organization that believes in Michael Bonfante’s vision.
Perhaps there is a fairy godmother out there, but as wonderful and as beautiful as Bonfante Gardens is, it’s time to face the truth: Bonfante Gardens is a failing business.
The city should no longer curry favor to keep the park afloat. The park must stand on its own merits, and city leaders should – just as City Administrator Jay Baksa wisely does with the budget – plan for the worst (bankruptcy and receivership) and hope for the best (growing attendance and a fairy godmother). What can city leaders do now to prevent an unforeseen tragedy – the building of something totally out of character with the Hecker Pass area?
That should be the focus of a responsible Council – even if our elected leaders vote to give Bonfante Gardens “one more special favor, one more chance” and approve the change for up to four homes.
Of course the guilty refrain will be trotted out … “if you don’t approve this, the park will have to close.” But the responsibility for Bonfante Gardens’ lack of success does not and has never belonged in the lap of the Gilroy City Council, which has bent over backwards to assist the park. Imagine a struggling First Street commercial business asking Council for the same kind of favors.
Mayor Al Pinheiro, who sits on the Bonfante Board of Directors, should not vote on this item. It is a clear conflict of interest that the mayor, regrettably, has turned a blind eye toward. What is good for Bonfante Gardens is not necessarily good for the community. And these continued special requests only bring the mayor’s conflict into sharper focus.
To reach this conclusion is extremely difficult. The former owner of Nob Hill Foods has poured not only a personal fortune into the magnificent park, but his heart and soul. The gardens are glorious, the entrance bridge to the park is a marvel in its simplistic, solid grandeur, the waterfalls and lake are a soothing respite for the soul, and the vision – a family park without the cheap glitz and fast-ride glamour – is so counter-culture that it’s righteous.
Alas, the planning and marketing efforts have failed. If the park fails it will be a significant loss for our community. It is more than tempting to keep approving prop-up zoning changes, but the time for Bonfante Gardens to succeed or fail on its own merits has come.
