After a yearlong saga, proponents of the Del Puerto Health Center’s move to Keystone Pacific Business Park will have to wait another week for what could be the finale of the contentious debate.

In tense and crowded quarters at City Hall on Tuesday, Feb. 2, the Patterson City Council unanimously agreed to introduce an ordinance that includes changes to the city’s general plan, a zoning amendment and other documents that would allow the health center’s move to Keystone.

The introduction of the ordinance is part of a required, two-step process in which the council must wait at least five days — or until its next meeting, Tuesday, Feb. 9 — to make a final vote on the law change.

Additionally, as part of the decision, council members will consider approving a negative declaration. That document says the proposed zoning changes would result in no significant environmental impacts, and therefore, a full environmental review is not required.

The time between meetings will allow for last-minute changes and for answers to any lingering questions, according to City Manager Cleve Morris.

“We really didn’t expect them to make any decision tonight,” said Kathy Wright, a leading proponent of the initiative, after Tuesday’s meeting.

During the meeting, community members offered their concerns — ranging from how medical waste was to be handled to the authority the city might lose over future businesses moving to the business park if it approved this move — as part of a public hearing.

As a city planner, Ron West also suggested the council bear in mind what the proposed changes would mean for Patterson’s future flexibility.

“The only item I have an issue with is the prohibition of sewer plants,” he said. “The fact is, we’re going to get to a point as a city where we are going to need to reuse our water, and the days of dumping will be over.

“If we prohibit that now, we won’t have a modern enough plant to accommodate reusing our water when we need it.”

The public hearing is planned to continue at the beginning of next Tuesday’s meeting, before the council makes its decision.

If the council approves the changes, the litigious battle between the city, the Del Puerto Health Care District and others — which 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 — may finally reach an end.

Nevertheless, even if the council adopts the changes, the parties still might not be in the clear, Morris said.

Because the new changes would not take effect until 30 days later, a legal challenge made during that time could destroy any chance of a clean finish to the impasse.

“We’re elected to make the tough decisions and to do the right thing,” said Mayor Becky Campo. “This process is what’s best for the city, even if it has been contentious at times.

“Nothing is more important than to bring this to a resolution.”