Ag Land Trust takes Salinas and Uni-Kool to court.

A major industrial development in Salinas is in limbo as two related lawsuits take a microscope to years-old agreements.

The Salinas agricultural cooler company Uni-Kool owns Harden Ranch, 257 acres of farmland at Abbot Street and Harris Road on the southeastern edge of Salinas, with plans to turn it into the Salinas-Ag Industrial Center. Before Uni-Kool could acquire the land, it had to be annexed by the city. That plan was moving through the approval process in 2008.

As part of earning approval, Uni-Kool offered a piece of farmland, Odello Ranch, to Ag Land Trust in exchange for building on Harden Ranch.

Ag Land Trust’s attorney, Andy Swartz, says that’s common when capturing open space. “When you take away farmland, you are required to preserve agricultural land,” he says. “Ag Land Trust was contractually promised to get [Odello] in supporting Harden Ranch.”

Ag Land Trust planned to rent out parcels on Odello Ranch, which was valued at $7 million, to other farmers to keep it in agriculture. By 2010, the city approved new city limits including Harden Ranch – with the provision the Odello land be transferred to the nonprofit.

Things were quiet for five years until July 31, 2015, when Ag Land Trust sued Uni-Kool for breach of contract, alleging the company refused to transfer ownership of Odello Ranch.

With that case still pending, things got more complicated. On June 1, 2016, Brian Finegan, an attorney representing Uni-Kool, emailed Jill Miller, a Salinas city planner, to ask that City Council change the old approval. Instead of requiring Uni-Kool to hand over Odello to Ag Land Trust, he asked to delete that requirement. The City Council voted 6-0 on June 14 with little fanfare to remove the requirement that Uni-Kool transfer Odello Ranch to Ag Land Trust.

That was at least partly out of City Council’s eagerness to create jobs, an estimated 4,000, as Uni-Kool sells parcels to agribusinesses like Mann Packing.

“It’s a huge step forward and investment for the city of Salinas,” said City Councilman Steve McShane who represents District 3, where Harden Ranch is. “I’m happy to move the item [forward].”

Six weeks later, Ag Land Trust sued the city, arguing the city had illegally deleted the requirement to transfer Odello.

If Ag Land Trust prevails in court, Ag Land Trust maintains it would mean the earlier requirement to transfer Odello Ranch from Uni-Kool to the nonprofit would again be in effect. Finegan argues it could have bigger implications, and that Harden Ranch development – including plans for a new Mann Packing facility – would be slowed down.

Both Salinas and Uni-Kool have filed a request to dismiss the case. A hearing on their request is scheduled for Sept. 16.

Editor's note: This story has been updated to reflect the following corrections. The City Council's June 14 changes to their 2010 approval would allow Uni-Kool to keep the Odello Ranch. In addition, if Ag Land Trust prevails against the city in court, it would mean reversing the City Council's June 14 decision, not the approval of the Ag-Industrial Center, which Uni-Kool's attorney says would slow down development at the center.