Officials discuss whether development offers adequate protection
for salamander
Gilroy – The controversial Mesa Ridge development in west Gilroy continues to idle as federal officials decide if it includes adequate protections for the California Tiger Salamander.
Property developer Dividend Homes has spent two-years trying to get approval on a plan that would allow development while protecting habitat for the endangered species, which migrates from areas in the gated Eagle Ridge community through portions of the 19 acres slated for Mesa Ridge.
Early in 2004, city council approved the 59-home project for hayfields near the intersection of Santa Teresa Boulevard and Miller Avenue. This month, they approved a one-year extension on that approval as Dividend Homes continues negotiations on a conservation plan with the U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service.
Project representative Skip Spiering said plans still focus on a salamander breeding pond as a primary protective measure.
“We have received some correspondence from (U.S. Fish and Wildlife) and we are going back and forth on the final deal,” Spiering said.
The Mesa Ridge project has generated friction between two of Gilroy’s most prominent and generous families, the Christophers of Garlic-growing fame and the Filices, one of the city’s largest and oldest families.
During the initial approval process, the Christophers accused city officials and Dividend Homes, which represents the Filices, of failing to properly notify them about an environmental study related to the project. As part of plans for an adjacent 12-unit development, the Christophers plan to preserve more than half of their project’s acreage due to the presence of nearby salamander breeding ponds.
Even though Mesa Ridge has roughly a third of its acreage preserved, the homes block off a part of the Christophers’ habitat preserve. As salamanders migrate from a breeding pond on nearby Eagle Ridge to the east, they could have difficulty getting to the Christophers’ upland habitat to the west.
“We are setting aside land for mitigation,” Spiering said. “It’s all part of the original plan, but we have been waiting for the U.S. Dept. of Fish and Wildlife to issue their clearance.”
