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| Local districts join city in suit against West Park |
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| Written by Jonathan Partridge / Patterson Irrigator | |
| Wednesday, 23 July 2008 | |
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A couple of local agencies have jumped on board with the city of Patterson in a lawsuit the city filed in May against the proposed PCCP West Park development. Del Puerto Health Care District and West Stanislaus Fire Protection District both voted within the past week to join in the city’s suit. “We have to look out for ourselves, because the county doesn’t look out for us,” said Steve Pedrazzi, chairman of the fire district. The board of directors for the health care district, which covers the area from Crows Landing to Vernalis, voted 5-0 on Monday to join in the city suit. The vote followed after the West Stanislaus Fire Protection District, which serves unincorporated portions of the county’s West Side, unanimously voted to join the suit July 16. PCCP West Park LLC hopes to build a 4,800-acre industrial park on and around a former naval airfield in Crows Landing, which is now mostly owned by the county. Representatives say it would provide 37,000 jobs when complete. The city filed a suit against West Park, Stanislaus County and Union Pacific Railroad on May 14, claiming the county violated state law April 22 when supervisors voted to choose a master developer and create a project description before an environmental impact report was complete. County officials have said the report was not needed for a project description to be approved, and that a project description is necessary for the environmental review process to move forward. Pedrazzi said the industrial park would greatly increase the need for fire protection services but would not provide a tax base for the district to do so. The 1,527-acre former naval airfield is in a state redevelopment area, so all tax money it generates will go toward redeveloping the area. Officials with the health care district, which runs Patterson District Ambulance and Del Puerto Health Center and works to increase health care services on the West Side, say West Park creates problems for it, too. Barry Hurd, director of Patterson District Ambulance, said West Park would increase the daytime population the district serves and create more train traffic, which could block ambulances from areas east of the tracks. He indicated the district wants some type of road in the early stages of the project that could get emergency vehicles over or under the tracks. West Park previously has proposed that a grade separation be constructed toward the end of the 30-year build-out period. Health board member Evan Schut said he did not see another way to ensure that the county would address the district’s needs, other than through litigation. “It’s sad that we have to use the tools of the law to do that,” he said. The health and fire districts previously joined in a proclamation against West Park with the cities of Patterson and Newman and Patterson Unified School District. Patterson City Attorney George Logan said this week that the health district and fire district could help broaden the spectrum of concerns about West Park by joining in the suit. “There’s strength in numbers,” he said. The city worries about an increased number of trains passing through town and potential air pollution and traffic troubles, and officials want to know more about West Park’s water source, Logan said. Stanislaus County Counsel Jack Doering said Tuesday he thought the lawsuit was premature and he is confident the district’s needs will be addressed through the California Environmental Quality Act-mandated review process. The county intends for individual districts to be compensated for the services they provide, he said. Logan said the cost of litigation should not change much for the city as a result of the districts joining in the suit. The city spent nearly $200,000 on the suit in 2007-08.
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