A showdown of sorts is shaping up between the City of Santa Maria and Santa Barbara County with a development and water at the root of the dispute.

The battle centers on whether 44 acres of land in unincorporated Santa Barbara County should be annexed into the city of Santa Maria. It’s now considered part of the Orcutt area.

On Tuesday night, the Santa Maria City Council is scheduled to consider whether to take steps to annex the land on Union Valley Parkway east of Highway 135 for the Richards Ranch development. That project proposes 396 apartments, 100 townhomes and businesses, including a specialty grocery store and more.

At the heart of the battle is whether the development should remain in Orcutt or become part of the city and the availability of water. The area also is referred to as Key Site 26 in the Orcutt Community Plan.

In a 3-2 vote Nov. 5, the majority of the Santa Barbara County Board of Supervisors agreed to send a letter to the City Council seeking a delay to hash out an agreement, so the project remains in Orcutt.

Richards Ranch developer Michael Stoltey has objected to further delays since the project has made its way through the city planning application process, costing $1 million and more than three years to reach this point.

Fourth District Supervisor Bob Nelson lobbied for sending the letter with support from chair Steve Lavagnino and Second District Supervisor Laura Capps.

Nelson, who called the project a key piece of the Orcutt Community Plan, said he favors a project honoring “community compatibility and good planning.”

Third District Supervisor Joan Hartmann and First District Supervisor Das Williams opposed sending the letter.

Hartmann called the proposal for the board sending a letter “a highly unusual procedure” and added that it “really violated my sense of fair play.” 

The letter urges the City Council to delay action so that the two agencies could hash out various issues.

The county missive suggested appointing a committee of two council members, two supervisors and staff. That committee could iron out issues over water supply, tax agreements and other infrastructure considerations that affect the city. 

But the developers’ attorney, Beth Collins of the Santa Barbara-based firm of Brownstein Hyatt Farber Schreck LLP, has rejected a delay. 

In a letter to the council, she called the county’s letter “an unprecedented attempt to obstruct a properly noticed annexation hearing and coerce our client into renewed negotiations with the county.” 

The developer opposed restarting the process through the county, contending it would take four more years and require another environmental impact report and project redesign. 

“Put simply, the owners tried to work with the county, but the county could not offer a reasonable path forward for the project without injecting significant additional costs and risk,” Collins wrote.

For decades, the land sat empty despite being owned by Walmart and eyed for development that never occurred because of a lack of water.

Lavagnino, whose dad, Larry, served as a Santa Maria mayor, shared some insight about the city leaders’ long-standing water policy.

“I know it very well because my dad was kind of the inventor of that theory. He felt that giving water to Orcutt hurt Santa Maria because Orcutt would develop, and if they developed commercial property there would be fewer tax dollars coming back to Santa Maria,” Lavagnino said. 

However, that policy began before agencies looked at a regional approach to housing, commercial property and other issues, Lavagnino said. 

“I really do think it’s the City of Santa Maria that just can’t get over this idea that Orcutt could have commercial property,” Lavagnino said. 

The City Council action Tuesday night would move the project to the Local Agency Formation Commission for approval or rejection of the annexation proposal, where another round of debate could occur.

The council meeting is set to start at 4:30 p.m. Tuesday followed by closed session discussions with the public session and a busy agenda starting at 5:30 p.m. at City Hall, 110 E. Cook St.