On Oct. 25, the Sunnyvale City Council--in a 5-2 vote--approved Centex Homes' plans to convert the near-empty park into for-sale housing. The plan was unanimously first approved two weeks earlier by the planning commission.

The approval comes after more than a year of work and negotiations between Centex, site owner Dubrovnik Properties, the city and the residents of Oasis.

Because of all the work that has gone on in the past year, the decision came as little surprise to anyone.

"I'm a fair woman, I knew this was going to happen," said Oasis resident Maria Nicholas, one of those still living in the park.

The Conversion Impact Report--presented to the public in early May--outlined Centex's plans to pay Oasis homeowners a minimum of $22,500 for their units. If a unit's value was appraised higher, the higher amount was paid. Every resident was also to receive $2,765 in relocation benefits to cover rent, deposits and moving costs. There were also additional benefits for moving out early, which--at one point--raised the relocation benefits for homeowners to more than $8,000. The value of the bonus has declined since the original offering, and Jacobs said they are in negotiations with the remaining Oasis residents to have them moved out by the Feb. 1 deadline set in the report.

"We went through the difficult process of closing a mobile home park, and I think we rose to that occasion," said Centex Project Manager Jeff Jacobs.

One of the remaining residents, Maria Nicholas, said she is biding her time, waiting for the right opportunity to open up for her.

"I'm looking near Redwood City, because I joined a church up there last year," she said.

The size of the lots in the park and the width of the street came up during the meeting. Centex's plan called for a 20-foot street running the length of the development--a U-shaped line of homes opening onto Alberta Avenue--with four feet of pedestrian space included in the 20 feet. That space--in lieu of a sidewalk--would be level with the street, marked by paint marking, and different paving and raised street markers.

City staff recommended a 24-foot street, to give 20 feet to car traffic and four feet to pedestrians, but the council ended up compromising on a 22-foot street, reducing the backyards of the homes by one foot, but providing more driving space.

Councilwoman Melinda Hamilton was also concerned about the relative lack of parking in the development, with roughly one extra parking space for every four homes.

"One good party and there isn't going to be any parking left for anyone else," Hamilton said.

The development will have about a dozen extra parking spaces, but Jacobs said that shouldn't be a problem because each house has a two-car garage and a two-car driveway.