Owners of family farms north of Manteca that stand to lose millions of dollars so Manteca can create a non-residential buffer Delicato has demanded for their winery want a say in what the city does with their land.
Dan Edwards — part of the family with ties to the Zotterelli Ranch — noted they were excluded from closed door sessions where the City Council negotiating with winery owners basically decided the fate of their land without any input from them.
Edwards made his remarks during a public hearing before the Manteca Planning Commission on Thursday. The hearing was continued to Thursday, Feb. 21, at 5 p.m.,
The public hearing is for general plan amendments the city needs to codify the Delicato settlement involving land owned by two longtime Manteca family famers that were not allowed to have a say in what happens to their properties.
No reason, official or otherwise, was offered by staff to the public as to why the hearing — and ultimate action — on the general plan amendment was continued.
The city on Thursday received at least one letter challenging the legality of the amendment process under California environmental law. That letter was from the Delta-Sierra chapter of the Sierra Club.
Edwards said he hoped officials — and the Delicato winery top brass — that hammered out the settlement would at least extend them the courtesy of sitting down with them before the Feb. 21 meeting given they brokered a zoning deal on land that the farm families owned.
That zoning deal could end up costing the families millions of dollars.
Two properties are under contract to be sold for residential development that Delicato demanded the city eliminate despite it being part of a general plan update approved by the City Council in July after nearly six years of public input.
If the city doesn’t allow the property to be zoned for residential development, the contracts are null and void.
Manteca officials have implied that the property owners could “easily” get the land under contract for industrial uses, which is what the city agreed to do in return for Delicato backing off a referendum aimed at rejecting the city’s overall growth plan on Nov. 5.
The landowners contend the zoning switch will devalue their property by millions of dollars.
As for finding a willing buyer for industrial land, they noted the general plan adopted by the city has a large amount of land already zoned industrial meaning there may not be a pool of eager buyers.
Several commercial brokers contacted by the Bulletin concur with that assessment.
The families for months have contended Manteca elected officials basically cut a deal that saves Delicato — considered the world’s fifth largest winery by product shipped — a considerable amount of money from having to buy their land to create the buffer Delicato believes they need.
As such, it is being done at the expense of the winery’s neighbors.
And if the general plan amendment goes through and the land is developed for an industrial park, family homes will then be surrounded by large warehouses and distribution centers — a stark contrast to residing next to other homes.
To contact Dennis Wyatt, email dwyatt@mantecabulletin.com