GILROY
– A land deal predicted to save debt-ridden Bonfante Gardens
Family Theme Park cleared its second major hurdle Wednesday night
at the Eagle Ridge golf clubhouse.
GILROY – A land deal predicted to save debt-ridden Bonfante Gardens Family Theme Park cleared its second major hurdle Wednesday night at the Eagle Ridge golf clubhouse.
At a meeting there, the seven delegates of the Eagle Ridge homeowners association approved the deal that would allow Bonfante Gardens to sell 33 acres to Eagle Ridge developer Shapell Industries. Shapell would use the land to build 118 new Eagle Ridge homes and a community park with a swimming pool, tennis courts and meeting room.
Each delegate voted the way the majority of his or her district’s residents did in the straw poll, lead delegate David Light said this morning.
“It went right down the line,” Light said.
The delegates were not required to follow the straw poll, but they had promised to do so as the issue was hotly debated over the past few months.
The delegates from districts 6 and 3 cast all their votes as “no”s. District 6, next to where the 118 new homes would go, had 86 percent of its voters reject the deal in the straw poll. District 3 narrowly defeated it.
The delegates from districts 1, 2, 4, 5 and 7 cast their votes “yes.” When each delegates’ votes were totaled, the result was 185-46, an 80-percent approval.
Two-thirds’ approval was needed. Light’s District 1 had 61 percent of the voting power by itself.
About 20 Eagle Ridge residents attended the meeting and verified the vote, Light reported.
The deal, coupled with a bondholders agreement Bonfante Gardens and its creditors have signed, would turn the park’s $70 million of debt into a more-manageable $14 million. Without the land deal, Bonfante board members have said their creditors will probably foreclose on the three-year-old park.
Debate over the deal has raged among Eagle Ridge residents. Critics say the 118 new, smaller-lot homes would dangerously increase traffic and lower property values. Supporters said the adverse impact would be small, but the neighborhood park’s amenities would be desirable additions.
Now the City Council must review the plans and make a decision, which could take nine months to a year, according to Shapell and Bonfante Gardens officials.
Caltrans could also get involved if a proposed Eagle Ridge access road to Hecker Pass Highway, through Bonfante Gardens, requires modifications to the highway intersection, according to city traffic engineer Kristi Abrams. While 58 percent of Eagle Ridge’s voting residents approved the land deal in a straw poll two weeks ago, 77 percent said they would oppose it without the Hecker Pass access road.
