There was plenty of support for a tax to raise money for a park in the Seacliff area, just not enough for the needed two-thirds majority.

A ballot measure that would have taxed residents $98 per parcel for 30 years to buy 3 acres for a park failed to get enough votes in balloting that concluded Tuesday night.

Unofficial returns showed 702 voters, or 62.5 percent, had voted for the levy while 422 voters, or 37.5 percent, had voted against it.

A half-dozen supporters gathered at the Elections Office in the County Government Center groaned with disappointment as the votes were tallied.

"We’re obviously disappointed," said park supporter Tom Dobrovolny.

"We had done a lot of polling and a lot of leg work. We thought we knew the community by virtue of that effort."

Residents who supported building a park in the Seacliff area had worked for years to make it a reality.

The community and county officials had worked out a deal with property owner Vim Kumar, who owns hotels in the region, to buy the land at the corner of McGregor Drive and Sea Ridge Road for $1.8 million. The Board of Supervisors has $250,000 in state park bond money for part of the effort.

But the parcel tax price tag to pay for it was apparently enough to discourage many voters.

Opponents argued the area already was graced with parks — like Nisene Marks and Seacliff State Beach — and that the county, at least for now, lacked the money to fully build a park once the land was purchased.

"The children of Seacliff are tough, and I am convinced they will survive living in an area with 10,000 acres of park land and natural beauty," said Phil Trounstine, an opponent of the tax.

Supporters countered that the state parks weren’t places with playgrounds for children and also argued that using the space as a park would mean a less intensive use for the property.

Both sides also squared off on tax exemptions — opponents hammering the point there was no exemption for seniors, and supporters countering there is a tax deferral plan in the county for seniors and the disabled.

"This was a once-in-a-lifetime opportunity to build a neighborhood park," said Kate Minott, who serves on the county Park Commission representing that area. "I feel some legal truths were distorted."

Trounstine countered that opponents’ arguments were "100 percent accurate."

What will happen with the land next remains to be seen. An agent for the owner said at the outset of the election that if the measure failed, the owner would want to do something with the property.

A church and apartment complex are slated to be built on the remaining vacant land.

During the late 1990s, the property was considered for a 31,000-square-foot, nine-store development that would have included a New Leaf market.

Some 2,098 voters were eligible. The Elections Department received 1,125 ballots after mailing them April 4.

"It’s just hard to pass something with a two-thirds vote, and when there is opposition it is even more difficult," said Supervisor Ellen Pirie, who supported the park idea.

Contact Brian Seals at bseals@santacruzsentinel.com.