City fears suit over housing project

BARSTOW • Barstow may the defendant in a lawsuit involving a developer who wanted to build a 300-unit housing project in the Soap Mine Road area.

At an informal meeting with City Manager Richard Rowe on June 16, Tom Nevis, head of the Pacific Holt Corporation, threatened to sue the city over the development of five parcels of land south of Soap Mine Road and east of Interstate 15, according to Rowe. Pacific Holt had purchased the land from the city in 2006 in order to build a housing project of more than 300 units.

Rowe’s meeting with Nevis dealt with his real estate transaction between the city, Rowe said. Nevis told Rowe he “didn’t have any option but to sue the city,” because he was not able to develop the property, Rowe said. The Barstow City Council discussed the issue in a closed session Monday. Because the issue involves legal action, Rowe couldn’t comment further except to say that the city’s attorney required additional information before taking further action with Nevis.

City Council also discussed price and terms of payment between the city and Pacific Holt at its closed session. City Attorney Yvette Abich-Garcia said because the issue was discussed in closed session, she couldn’t comment further about the real property negotiation.

Pacific Holt’s 300-unit housing development was to be built on 150 acres of land in the Soap Mine Road area. Residents already living in the area were concerned that 300 additional septic systems would contaminate the groundwater in their neighborhood and filed a lawsuit in April 2006 against the city and Pacific Holt. Soap Mine Road resident Christina Byrne said the lawsuit was settled out of court in December 2006. The settlement required that Pacific Holt do an environmental impact report (EIR) detailing how the development would affect surrounding lands.

“Nobody wanted this housing development,” Byrne said. “Nobody.”

Byrne, her neighbor, Chuck Monds, and other Soap Mine Road residents met with Mark Herman, a Pacific Holt representative, earlier this year. Byrne said the corporation wanted to know how many homes Soap Mine road residents would be comfortable with.

“Our response was, ‘Why don’t you do an EIR and let the EIR tell you how many homes can go in?’” she said, adding that Pacific Holt wanted Soap Mine Road residents to meet as a neighborhood. “They were trying to feel us out.”

Attempts to talk to Nevis or Herman for comment were unsuccessful.

“We actually don’t talk to the press,” an unidentified Pacific Holt representative said Thursday. “So, you’re wasting your time, to be honest.”

Contact the writer:
(760) 256-4123 or jcejnar@desertdispatch.com