At a glance

• WHAT: Patterson City Council meeting

• WHEN: 7 p.m. Tuesday, Feb. 2

• WHERE: City Hall, council chambers, 1 Plaza

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The controversy of a yearlong fight to allow the Del Puerto Health Center to move to the Keystone Pacific Business Park could finally reach a resolution next week, when the issue goes before the Patterson City Council for a vote.

At its meeting Tuesday, Feb. 2, the council will decide on changes to the city’s general plan, zoning laws and other documents to allow the health center’s move. If the changes are approved, the council will reconvene for a special meeting Feb. 9 to vote on a second reading and officially adopt the changes.

The Patterson Planning Commission recommended earlier this month that the council approve the changes.

In addition, the council must decide whether to approve a negative declaration — a document that says the proposed zoning changes would result in no significant environmental impacts and, therefore, a full environmental review is not required.

But that same document could snarl the situation further, if the health center’s landlord, John Ramos, decides to act on the verbal challenge he issued regarding the negative declaration during the Jan. 14 planning commission meeting.

In a letter submitted to commissioners at the meeting, Ramos’ lawyer wrote that the landlord’s objections stem from his belief that the city improperly relied on “outdated” studies from an earlier environmental review and focused too much on the zoning changes without adequately examining just what a health center in Keystone would mean for the surrounding area.

Many have begun to wonder whether the letter might be followed by a lawsuit.

If the council approves the changes, it could end a contentious fight between the city and the Del Puerto Health Care District and others. That squabble has resulted in the filing of a ballot initiative to allow the health center’s move and a subsequent legal challenge of the initiative’s constitutionality by the city.

However, even if the council adopts the raft of changes, City Manager Cleve Morris said the new rules would not take effect until 30 days later. If a legal challenge is made during that time, it could spoil any chance of a clean finish to the impasse.

According to a memorandum of understanding both sides entered into late last month, such a legal challenge would delay the case enough to cause both to resume their original positions — the city pursuing its lawsuit and proponents of the health center’s move continuing with their initiative.

“I have no idea whether we will be seeing a lawsuit (from Ramos),” Morris said. “At this point, anything is possible, so we’ll keep our fingers crossed and just have to wait and see.”

It was Ramos who appealed city staff’s initial approval of the move a year ago — an appeal that was ultimately upheld by the council — igniting the controversy.

And with aggressive deadlines in place to get these zoning changes made, Ramos’ worry at the time — that the city rushed the move through the approval process — has led him to speak up again.

“There’s a lot of holes in this,” Ramos said of the negative declaration during the planning commission meeting. “It’s not legal. It won’t happen. It’s just not right.

“I hate it. … I’ve lost a lot of good friends in this process, and I’m sure it’s not over.”

Ramos did not return a call seeking comment before press time.

• Contact Kendall Wright at 892-6187 or kendall@pattersonirrigator.com.