The tangled web of Bonfante Garden bonds, housing permits and
broken promises raises a host of important questions. And here
’s the touchiest one: Is what’s good for Bonfante Gardens
automatically what’s good for Gilroy and by extension the remainder
of the South Valley?
The tangled web of Bonfante Garden bonds, housing permits and broken promises raises a host of important questions.
And here’s the touchiest one: Is what’s good for Bonfante Gardens automatically what’s good for Gilroy and by extension the remainder of the South Valley?
We believe that making the assumption that the two entities have – and will always have – duplicate interests has led to questionable decisions, such as awarding housing permits to the park’s 501(c)3 corporation, that have in turn led to a host of unintended consequences down the road.
We love Bonfante Gardens. We want it to be a fabulous, roaring success, a tourist attracting bringing visitors eager to spend their disposable income throughout the South Valley.
But not at any cost. There are going to be times – and the question of how, or if, the park’s 33 acres adjacent to Eagle Ridge should be developed is a prime example – where the good of Gilroy and the good of Bonfante Gardens are not the same.
We believe any development of the foothill acreage must be done with a full-blown study of the environmental impacts it might generate to this sensitive site and to those who live nearby. Planners need to study the traffic, noise, pollution and other impacts before anything happens.
We need to make sure that, even though the housing permits have already been awarded, the project is held to the highest standards.
But that’s not necessarily the best thing for cash-strapped Bonfante Gardens, which will likely want to skip as many steps as possible to get its money as quickly as possible, to pay down its staggering and late bond debt before its creditors move to foreclose.
A healthy Bonfante Gardens is good for the South Valley and Gilroy, no question. But respect for the processes in place for zoning, development, issuance of bonds, to name just a few is also in Gilroy’s best interest.
However, what’s good for Bonfante Gardens is not always the best thing for the South Valley and specifically Gilroy.
