Eagle Ridge residents have spoken
– they have approved a 118-home, 33-acre expansion of the gated
community in exchange for longed-for amenities including a park and
swimming pool.
Eagle Ridge residents have spoken – they have approved a 118-home, 33-acre expansion of the gated community in exchange for longed-for amenities including a park and swimming pool.
We’re sure Bonfante Gardens officials, who were counting on approval of the land-swap deal to save it from likely foreclosure, are breathing a sigh of relief. But it’s too soon to rest assured that Bonfante’s money woes are a thing of the past. The Eagle Ridge straw poll was just the first of a long series of hurdles that the park must overcome to make this deal a reality, and even if that happens, the park’s long-term viability is far from a sure thing.
The next hurdle is municipal: City Council must approve the plan.
That’s likely to happen, given the city of Gilroy has a history of doing almost anything to ensure that Bonfante Gardens succeeds. Also in the plan’s favor is the fact that Mayor Al Pinheiro, who also sits on the Bonfante Gardens board of directors, has thus far refused to recuse himself from votes involving the troubled theme park. We once again call upon him to do so.
The next hurdle is the environmental review process. The project will require a full-blown environmental impact report, and you can bet neighbors and environmentalists will closely review the draft EIR when it is circulated. The environmentally sensitive foothill site will likely have many difficult-to-mitigate impacts. First on that list is traffic.
The residents, via a second straw-poll question, approved the expansion only if Shappel included a third entry point into Eagle Ridge and the questioned proposed a route off Hecker Pass Highway. That scenic highway will require Caltrans input on any plans.
Given the longer time frame and higher price tag Caltrans’ purview would likely place on the project, combined with the limited access during Bonfante Gardens’ operating season, we’re still firmly of the opinion that it’s a bad idea, and we urge the City Council to scrutinize this part of the proposal ever so closely, keeping in mind that the homes and development proposed in the Hecker Pass Specific Plan will add even more traffic to the scenic two-land highway.
Construction traffic is another consideration during the long months – or years – required to construct 118 homes and the new amenities. It’s unlikely that contractors will want to traverse the round-about Ballybunion route to reach the new construction site, but it strikes us as unsafe and unwise to direct construction traffic to use Hecker Pass Highway. The Council should also address this issue.
Landowners who spent months carefully crafting the Hecker Pass Specific Plan proposal to develop clustered housing developments while preserving large sections of open space might have serious issues with the Eagle Ridge expansion plan.
But let’s say, for the sake of argument, that the project is approved by City Council, that EIR and mitigation costs pencil out to make the project profitable for developer Shapell Industries and the EIR passes muster with all affected parties.
None of that guarantees a profitable future for Bonfante Gardens. The troubled theme park now has additional fiscal breathing room, to be sure, and the likelihood of a foreclosure sale has been reduced for now. But without more visitors, Bonfante Gardens cannot last forever.
We congratulate Bonfante Gardens on clearing this first hurdle and wish officials good luck on completing the long race ahead.
As for the community, we now look to Gilroy officials to make sure the Eagle Ridge expansion project is the best it can be for the the city as a whole.
