State steps after Patterson city leaders reject Keystone Ranch housing dvelopment
California's housing department says the Stanislaus County city of Patterson may have violated state law when it blocked a 700-home subdivision earlier this year, warning the city it could face action from the state attorney general.
The California Department of Housing and Community Development sent a Sept. 22 letter to city leaders after the council voted in April to reject the Keystone Ranch project, a 95-acre development within the Zacharias Master Plan area.
The letter said Patterson failed to make the required findings under the state Housing Accountability Act before denying the project.
The city, however, argues its decision stemmed from new restrictions imposed by state water regulators. The Department of Water Resources ordered Patterson to cut groundwater pumping by 10% after rejecting the city's sustainability plan, triggering new environmental review requirements under the California Environmental Quality Act.
Deputy City Attorney Douglas White said Patterson is caught between conflicting directives from the state.
"A home without water really isn't a home," he said. "We went from a situation where we had plenty of water for new development to a situation where we don't."
Developers behind Keystone Ranch say the city unfairly placed the full cost of a $20 million recharge basin on them. Evette Davis, speaking for Keystone, said the project was denied improperly.
"We were gratified that the state recognized what we had been saying for weeks and months, that the city had improperly denied our project," she said.
The dispute highlights a clash between California's push to expand housing and local efforts to protect limited groundwater supplies. Patterson must respond by the end of October.