… The California Department of Housing and Community Development sent a Sept. 22 letter to [Patterson] city leaders after the council voted in April to reject the Keystone Ranch project, a 95-acre development within the Zacharias Master Plan area. … The letter said Patterson failed to make the required findings under the state Housing Accountability Act before denying the project. The city, however, argues its decision stemmed from new restrictions imposed by state water regulators. The Department of Water Resources ordered Patterson to cut groundwater pumping by 10% after rejecting the city’s sustainability plan, triggering new environmental review requirements under the California Environmental Quality Act.