Gilroy
– Just weeks after Santa Clara County was touting what appeared
to be the end of its legal dispute with San Jose over the county
fairgrounds, it has counter-sued the city for failing to live up to
agreements to provide services to the area and give the county a
free hand in running the grounds.
Gilroy – Just weeks after Santa Clara County was touting what appeared to be the end of its legal dispute with San Jose over the county fairgrounds, it has counter-sued the city for failing to live up to agreements to provide services to the area and give the county a free hand in running the grounds.
“We want the city to perform what it has agreed to do,” County Executive Pete Kutras said.
The suit alleges that San Jose has not lived up to a 2001 agreement to annex areas around the fairgrounds, and reneged on its promise to acknowledge county sovereignty over the grounds.
“Rather than comply in good faith, … the city … ignored their contractual obligations solely for self-serving purposes,” the lawsuit states.
The county was sued last year by San Jose and the Downtown Business Association, which both raised claims to keep the county from building the theater, alleging that the development would hinder San Jose’s own growth efforts. The county hopes the theater will be a cash cow and the centerpiece of a new entertainment attraction, and Supervisor Don Gage hopes to move 4-H portions of the county fair to Gilroy.
Earlier this year, San Jose Superior Court Judge Leslie C. Nichols dismissed the downtown association’s claim that a proposed ticket assessment fee was an illegal tax and that the county was in violation of bonding and bidding laws.
Nichols had previously rejected a claim that the county had violated the state’s environmental review process.
