GILROY
– Less than half of Eagle Ridge’s 508 households voted in a
straw poll, according to numbers recently released by Eagle Ridge
developer Shapell Industries. Fifty-eight percent of those voted
yes to a proposed deal that could save the debt-ridden Bonfante
Gardens theme park – a 124-88 outcome.
Now, the delegates of the Eagle Ridge homeowners’ association
will vote Wednesday whether to approve the land deal.
GILROY – Less than half of Eagle Ridge’s 508 households voted in a straw poll, according to numbers recently released by Eagle Ridge developer Shapell Industries. Fifty-eight percent of those voted yes to a proposed deal that could save the debt-ridden Bonfante Gardens theme park – a 124-88 outcome.
Now, the delegates of the Eagle Ridge homeowners’ association will vote Wednesday whether to approve the land deal.
An approval is expected since each delegate has promised to go with the majority of the homeowners in his or her district, as expressed in the straw poll that concluded May 27.
Given the hot debate, some residents were taken aback that only 212 of Eagle Ridge’s 508 households voted.
“It was kind of surprising to a lot of people that less than half the people voted,” said J.D. Fay, the delegate from District 6, which is next to where the new homes would go.
Fay’s District 6 nixed the deal in the straw poll. Only three of its 21 voters said yes, leaving an 86 percent opposition.
Fay, therefore, will vote no, which he says is how he would have voted if it had been up to him alone.
“My feelings are consistent with the whole district here,” Fay said.
District 6 residents had no idea the new homes would be proposed when they bought their homes within the last nine months.
“We thought we knew what we were getting,” he said.
Homeowners responded differently to a second ballot question. Asked if they would still approve the deal if it doesn’t include a third Eagle Ridge gate – from the new area to Hecker Pass Highway via Bonfante Gardens, open Monday through Friday – 77 percent said no: 46-158.
The deal would allow Shapell to buy 33 acres from Bonfante Gardens, adjacent to Eagle Ridge. Shapell would use the land to build 118 new Eagle Ridge homes and a community park with a swimming pool and meeting room open to all Eagle Ridge residents.
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 probably will foreclose on the three-year-old park.
A new owner could change its theme from horticulture to less-neighbor-friendly thrill rides, Bonfante Gardens officials have warned Eagle Ridge residents.
To pass, the deal needs two-thirds of the delegates’ voting power. Four of the six voting districts approved it, and if their delegates follow the majority, the deal would move on to the Gilroy City Council – a process that could take a year, Shapell Division Manager Chris Truebridge said.
Controversy over the question raged among Eagle Ridge residents, and tempers flared at an April 25 homeowners association election. 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.
But Fay said the added traffic through the development will make District 6 less safe for children. He also feared the new gate at Hecker Pass would be unguarded.
“I’m concerned that it will be a weak point for our security,” he said.
Fay does not question the straw poll’s validity, but some Eagle Ridge residents do. Michael Matthews is one of them.
First, Matthews says, the homeowners’ vote should have been preceded by a forum to educate homeowners on the pros and cons of the project.
“If it was a legitimate vote with a pro and con discussion, … then if we were outvoted, I could say OK, we lost,” Matthews said.
Second, he says, the ballot-counting should have been witnessed by advocates for both sides. Instead, they were counted solely by staff from Community Management Services, a firm hired to assist the homeowners association. CMS official Gary Martini, who supervised the vote, has not returned phone calls for more than a week.
“We don’t even know if we can verify these votes,” Matthews said. “If you don’t have a way to verify it, how do you trust it? … It all rolls into something really suspicious.”
Many others, however, do not share Matthews’ suspicions. District 1 resident Steve, who withheld his last name for fear of retribution – a possible golf ball through his window, he said – said he and his wife voted yes for the project but no if there is no Hecker Pass access.
As Steve watched his child play at an Eagle Ridge playground, he said he thought the project’s criticism had devolved into name-calling and personal attacks.
“I really don’t get the impression that there’s a lot of back-room deals going on,” he said. “As time goes by, I think it will be for the positive … if it’s done right,” Steve said. “If it’s done cheap and for the money, then there will be problems.”
Peter Crowley covers public safety for The Dispatch. You can reach him at 842- 6400 Ext. 286 or pc******@************ch.com.
