The Patterson City Council voted 5-0 in closed session Tuesday to file a legal action to “test the validity” of the initiative designed to move the Del Puerto Health Center to the Keystone Pacific Business Park.

City Attorney George Logan told a room full of health center supporters that the initiative violates the California constitution, which states that ballot initiatives can only cover one subject. He argued that in addition to allowing the health center to move — a move not allowed by the city’s zoning laws — the initiative would also make a number of changes that would benefit the business park.

Health center proponents, in comments during the open session that followed the announcement, painted the decision as a divisive, costly act meant to further delay the expansion of health care in Patterson.

“I think that’s a bad perception,” Councilwoman Dejeune Shelton said after the meeting. “But we can’t deal with perception. We have to deal with the law.”

Logan said a Stanislaus County Superior Court judge will review the initiative and determine its legality. If the initiative is approved by the court, Logan said, the council will proceed with the process.

The city is set to receive the county-verified signatures of initiative proponents next week. The council, likely at its Dec. 1 meeting, would then have the option of adopting the initiative, sending it to ballot or requesting 30 days to study it. Should the council take the 30-day study period, as expected, it would then have 10 more days to make a decision.

Logan said the intent behind taking the initiative to court is not to delay the process and that he will request that a ruling be made before the initiative comes back to the council for a decision following the study period.

That’s likely little consolation for the dozens of audience members on hand to support the initiative.

The council has been criticized in the recent past for siding with the health center’s landlord, John Ramos, in denying the move, as well as for reimbursing Ramos for his legal fees incurred while appealing staff approval of the move and for a perceived lack of support for the health center.

“We’re certainly disappointed to hear tonight’s news,” Keystone attorney George Petrulakis said while addressing the council. “It’s your money and your taxpayers’ money, so it’s your decision how you spend it.”

Several residents stepped to the podium to speak on the need for an expanded health center, which the move to Keystone would provide. They said the current center on Ward Avenue is too small to serve its patients and to attract new medical providers.

“It’s totally inadequate,” former Councilman Leo Halseth said. “You’re not going to entice any upscale medical services with a facility like that.”

Others cited personal stories that illustrated the need for an expansion of health care services in Patterson. The drive to Modesto or Turlock for services can be difficult or impossible for seniors and the disabled, they said.

Sperry Avenue resident Pat Rose questioned the council’s motives. She refuted concerns about the traffic the health center would create, saying it’s nothing compared to what a proposed Walmart would bring. And she said the argument that the new site would be too far away from people on the eastern side of town is irrelevant when considering the distance many travel to Modesto for services.

“You really have to stop and think,” Rose said, “why are you so against this?”

Luis Molina, a former planning commissioner and mayoral candidate in Patterson, said the council’s apparent lack of support for the health center’s move shows a lack of leadership.

“I’ve been here long enough to know that you need to build relationships, not tear them down,” Molina said. “These wounds are going to be deep.”

• Contact James Leonard at 892-6187 or james@pattersonirrigator.com.