Patterson City Council members spent close to four hours Tuesday trudging through a zoning issue that will determine whether the Del Puerto Health Center can relocate to a business park in western Patterson.

The end result of the hearing was a directive to form a committee, which will select a land use lawyer who will help advise the council. That brings the total number of legal minds weighing in on the matter to five.

“We’ve already heard from four lawyers, and I’m not even in court,” Councilwoman Dejeune Shelton said.

Opposition from the health center’s current landlord, John Ramos, has led to the legal showdown. Ramos appealed a decision by the Patterson Planning Commission after commissioners OK’d the facility’s move from a Ramos-owned building in north Patterson to a building in the Keystone Pacific Business Park.

Tuesday, Ramos’ appeal landed in the council’s lap. Ramos’ argument, as presented by attorney Tom Terpstra, is that a primary care health facility like the one being proposed by the district is not allowed in the business park under Patterson’s zoning rules. If such a facility wants to go out there they would need to go through a more detailed approval process than simply a thumbs-up from the planning commission.

“The district chose to ram-rod this thing through,” Terpstra said.

Health care district board members had a different take. They said money is what’s really behind the political maneuvering.

“This is all about maintaining a monopoly on health care facilities in Patterson,” said district president Ed Maring.

In the past, board members had referred to a lease termination agreement from Ramos — which the district refused to sign — that states if the district gives him $125,000 and adheres to vacancy procedures described in the original lease, the appeal would go away.

Councilman Sam Cuellar wanted more details about the offer, and attorneys from both sides said it was the other’s idea to draw up the agreement.

Patterson’s City Attorney George Logan said the $125,000 doesn’t relate to the zoning issue at hand. Terpstra agreed

“With all due respect to your question, sir, it is not relevant,” Terpstra said.

Cuellar still felt there were unstated motives guiding the proceedings.

“I can’t refrain,” Ceullar said. “This really is not about zoning issues. … This is basically a conflict between two parties — a landlord and a tenant who can’t get this issue resolved.”

Councilwoman Annette Smith felt Cuellar’s questions were out of line.

“It was irresponsible,” Smith said during a Wednesday interview.

The council should have stayed focused on the zoning issues, she said. However, she added that because of the groups involved, the matter has received an unusual amount of city attention.

Though Terpstra questioned the relevancy of Cuellar’s question, he did touch on the subject.

“It’s been cast as a money for appeal. Nothing could be further from the truth,” he said.

While some pondered the real motives behind Tuesday’s marathon meeting, the lawyers poured through legal minutia as Tuesday night neared Wednesday morning.

“See you later today,” Patterson Public Works Director Mike Willett joked as he shared departing words with a fellow employee.

Essentially, Terpstra argued that because a primary care facility isn’t specifically mentioned in the zoning rules, it is not allowed to locate in the business park.

The lawyer representing Keystone Corporation, George Petrulakis, said there are two sets of zoning rules that dictate business park uses, and under the other zoning rules, the medical facility can locate in the park.

Logan also gave an opinion, which went in line with Terpstra’s. However, Patterson’s Community Development Director, Rod Simpson, provided the opposite opinion.

Health care board members mainly spoke about the need for new facilities to better serve the West Side.

With expectations that whichever side loses will likely sue, the council ultimately decided to hire another attorney to provide an opinion. A two-person committee will select the lawyer, and councilors vowed to make a decision at their next meeting.

Meanwhile, as the clock ticked close to midnight, Patterson’s Finance Director Margaret Souza sat waiting to present her budget update, which was next on the agenda after the health care facility issue.

Souza never got the chance to tell the council of the city’s looming financial shortfalls. Instead councilors delayed diving into the pending financial woes, as they said later, because they were exhausted from hearing lawyers, businessmen and politicians go back and forth.

Contact John Saiz at 892-6187 or john@pattersonirrigator.com.