The Del Puerto Health Care District had secured the city approvals it needed to move its health facility to west Patterson, but on Thursday the Patterson City Council threw a wrench in those plans.

That’s when councilors voted 4-1 in a special meeting to deny the relocation, stating the move violates the city’s zoning policy.

Where that leaves the district is uncertain. At the health care district board’s next meeting on June 2, they will discuss possible alternatives, said district CEO Margo Arnold. She would not elaborate as to what those alternatives might be.

The decision also creates uncertainty for the Keystone Corporation, which planned to sell the health district a building and land in their west Patterson business park.

It had been the district’s hope to move from their facility at 1108 Ward Ave. to the Keystone Pacific Business Park. The move would allow for immediate expansion of health services and accommodate growth, district officials said.

But the landlord at the current facility, John Ramos, opposed the move, claiming business park rules don’t allow a medical facility like the one proposed by the district.

His opposition didn’t stop the Patterson Planning Commission from giving its OK to the move, but Ramos’ appeal to the Patterson City Council ultimately got the decision reversed – but not before some heated debate.

At its April 21 meeting, the council heard hours of arguments as legal minds and businessmen bantered back and forth. Those discussions resulted in the council hiring a lawyer for about $5,000 to render a new opinion. His conclusion was the new facility would require some sort of environmental review before it could move into the business park. He recommended the council accept Ramos’ appeal, which is exactly what the council did.

Ramos’ arguments hinged on whether a developer agreement for the west Patterson business parks takes precedent over the city zoning laws in that area. Bill Abbott, the lawyer the council hired, said the zoning rules take precedent, and therefore the facility needs a thorough review before moving in.

Sam Cuellar was the one council member who voted against the appeal. Cuellar said Friday he voted no because the motion was too “narrow.” He wanted staff to review the developer agreement and zoning rules to see if the facility is allowed use, even though the community development department already determined it is allowed. He also wanted staff to review the zoning rules and the developer agreement to see if they are in fact contradictory.

Initially, not all councilors felt that was necessary, though councilwoman Dejeune Shelton did concur with Cuellar.

“This needs to be addressed,” Shelton said.

Ultimately, all the councilors got on board with the idea and voted 5-0 to have staff conduct the review.

Contact John Saiz at 892-6187 or john@pattersonirrigator.com.