SUNNYSIDE -- Retired farmer Don Padelford has filed a lawsuit against the city of Sunnyside for not allowing him to develop the airport neighborhood he envisions.

Padelford, 60, wants to build more than 400 homes -- some with their own hangars -- just north of the Sunnyside Airport.

His lawsuit, filed Monday in Yakima County Superior Court, seeks compensation for potential sales he lost while his 123-acre parcel sat in "limbo" without a zoning designation. Three potential deals worth millions have fallen through because of it, he said.

"I'm caught in between," he said.

He and his attorney, Jamie Carmody of Yakima, plan to specify an amount at trial, though none has been scheduled yet. City officials were served Monday with notice of the lawsuit. They have 20 days to respond.

Padelford alleges the city council was too slow to make up its mind about how to zone his property, which lies just north of the Sunnyside Airport.

When it was annexed in August last year, the property was zoned for industrial use, but the city changed it to residential in December when it approved its citywide comprehensive plan. A hired hearing examiner agreed.

However, council members balked, worrying that houses so close to the airport could stop the city from expanding someday. They decided in April to postpone a zoning decision until the city's staff could draft a comprehensive plan for the airport.

* Ross Courtney can be reached at 930-8798 or rcourtney@yakimaherald.com.