Tracy Press

Les Serpa, head of The Surland Cos., speaks to the City Council and Planning Commission on Tuesday night. Glenn Moore/Tracy Press

But first, a bit of confusion about the agreement must be eliminated amid criticism that the proposed Ellis subdivision will hinder growth at Tracy Municipal Airport, that the deal is illegal, and that it might be unsafe because the subdivision will sit atop high-pressure, underground natural-gas pipelines.

In a two-hour joint meeting between the Planning Commission and the City Council Tuesday evening, the public for the first time got to chime in about the proposed development agreement.

If the deal is OK’d without a hitch, which is far from guaranteed, the city could have a swim center open in about three years.

The deal would pave the way for Serpa’s company, The Surland Cos., to build 2,250 homes on about 300 acres on the northwest corner of Linne and Corral Hollow roads.

It would also give him the rights to build another 1,600 houses elsewhere in town at some point in the future, which is a sticking point for critics who fear he might sell those rights, despite his statements to the contrary. The deal also requires Surland to be financially involved in any subdivision that would use those 1,600 building rights.

Those extra rights seem to make Councilman Steve Abercrombie and Councilwoman Irene Sundberg uneasy, and they both suggested future talks might cut those back.

However, the deal would allow Serpa, at least in theory, to build as few as 500 homes at Linne and Corral Hollow and use the other 3,350 growth allotments for homes somewhere else in Tracy.

Commissioners Carol Blevins and Marc Shishido along with Mayor Brent Ives discuss the Ellis project Tuesday. Glenn Moore/Tracy Press

It’s a point that will re-examined by city planners.

The right to build homes is barred until 2012, and thereafter, about a half-dozen developers will compete for the limited rights to build an average of 600 homes per year under the Measure A slow-growth law.

Denny Presley, an advocate of the Tracy Municipal Airport, complained that Serpa’s homes and aquatics park could restrict flights that take off from the airport, in violation of the 1946 code of regulations the city agreed to when it took over the airport from the federal government.

City officials said that will be looked into that as well.

Activist Carole Dominguez once again railed against what she said was a lack of analysis about the high-pressure pipelines under the proposed subdivision — the same pipelines that helped derail suggested youth sports parks at the former antenna farm on Schulte Road.

She said the environmental report on the subdivision barely delved into the location, depth, condition and history of those pipelines, another facet the city will dig deeper into, the council decided.

And Mark Connolly of Tracy Region Alliance for a Quality Community also blasted the project and the city’s environmental study, calling it "illegal," and hinting at a lawsuit.

But not all the comments of the night were critical.

Tracy resident Michel Bazinet piled praise on the proposed swim center, which he said would be just about the only place in town where families could go to have fun together.

"A swim center would do nothing less than transform recreational life in Tracy," he said.

Sue Rainey also said the city should move ahead with the deal.

"I guess because of airports and gas lines, no city should be expanded," she said.

The big fight of the night was over whether the city should try to put a price tag on the value that Serpa is getting versus the value the city will receive for the swim center and the land it will sit on.

Commissioner Carole Blevins wanted department heads to figure out the worth of the benefits Serpa would get, given the public knows he has to pay the city
$20 million for a swim center and contribute 21 acres of land.

Under the deal, Serpa gets building rights, water and sewage treatment rights that he has to pay for when used, and naming rights to the aquatics center.

Except for Sundberg, others on the council, after a lengthy debate, rejected putting a price tag on the benefits Serpa would receive.

But in the end, the council decided that department heads could figure out how much building permits would cost Serpa in today’s dollars.