Modesto erred in Del Rio well process, judge says

Modesto City Hall three years ago violated constitutional rights of some ranchette owners north of town by failing to notify them of a City Council hearing potentially affecting their properties, a judge said Monday in a tentative ruling.

The ruling, however, does not derail the city’s plans for a large well serving the exclusive Del Rio community a half-mile away.

The council’s 2012 well approval “was illegal, null and void and in violation of the California Environmental Quality Act, better known as CEQA,” reads the written decision of Stanislaus Superior Court Judge Roger Beauchesne.

Ranchette owners had provided the city with their names, addresses and phone numbers, expecting to receive word of a coming hearing. But the city said nothing to them until five months after the council approved the project in March 2012.

A few people sued, saying a deep well at Ladd and St. John roads could suck dry their more shallow domestic wells, especially in light of the ongoing drought, and objecting to the idea of a 20-foot water tank near their homes. Del Rio would get all the benefits while the ranchettes would bear all the burdens, their lawsuit said.

The council rescinded its approval in November 2013, so the judge this week declined to “order the city to do something it has already done” with a stronger ruling. Nor did Beauchesne order the city to prepare a more robust environmental impact report, but he did order the city “to comply with CEQA guidelines before reapproving the project, including providing specific notice to (property owners) so they may present their opposition, if any.”

“That’s what (my clients) wanted originally. They’ll have that right in the next approval process,” said Sacramento attorney Daniel W. Smith, representing the ranchette owners.

City Attorney Adam Lindgren said Modesto officials are likewise satisfied with the ruling despite disagreeing with aspects. “The City Council provided more relief to (ranchette owners) than what the court ordered,” he said, referring to the council tabling the project a year and a half ago.

The city owns and operates Del Rio’s water system, which relies on two other wells, and is preparing a more in-depth environmental study with hopes of finishing the project. A settlement to an earlier lawsuit requires that the city provide the unincorporated country club community with more reliable water pressure.

This story was originally published May 12, 2015 at 11:37 AM with the headline "Modesto erred in Del Rio well process, judge says."