The American Canyon City Council on Tuesday moved toward taking land by eminent domain in order to build two water tanks near the future site of American Canyon High School.

The City Council voted unanimously for what is called a “resolution of necessity” to acquire about three acres from landowners Edward and Charlotte Biggs.

City Attorney Bill Ross said the city will go to Napa County Superior Court to seek a court order to take possession of the land off Newell Drive east of Highway 29 so that construction of the tanks can begin.

The city wants to build a 2.5 million-gallon water tank and a separate 1-million-gallon-recycled-water tank on the sloping site. The larger tank will connect to a high-pressure tank 300 feet up the slope, adjacent to land owned by the Napa Valley Unified High School District.

Until the tanks are built, the American Canyon High School will receive water from the city of Vallejo, according to city officials. The school is slated to open in 2010.

City officials said the process of trying to install tanks precedes the plans for the high school, and actually goes back a decade.

The state said in 2000 the city needed more water storage to meet the demand at peak times. A  city study in 2003 also identified the need to build the additional water capacity to accommodate the growth. The effort to build the tanks gained momentum with the plans to build a new high school.

City Manager Rich Ramirez said the city hopes to get money from President Barack Obama’s economic stimulus package to build the tanks within nine months.

The city now receives most of its potable water from the North Bay Aqueduct, a pipeline from the Sacramento-San Joaquin Delta. The tanks would give the city enough reserve water for a few days — instead of a few hours — in case an earthquake were to damage the aqueduct, Ramirez said. An old plan for a 6,000-acre-foot city reservoir never has been acted on, Ramirez said.

The Biggs’ have made known their plans to build houses on the property. David Gilbreth, a Napa attorney who represents Edward Biggs, on Tuesday told the City Council his client wanted to discuss the matter in public.

“We’re looking for an opportunity for a free discussion,” Gilbreth said.

City Councilman Don Callison said he met with Gilbreth a year and half ago and viewed plans for a residential development at the site.

City Councilman Ed West said Gilbreth also contacted him for a meeting. But West did not respond, saying he did not think it was appropriate for him to talk to an attorney instead of Biggs.

Gilbreth answered that had he known West’s concern, he would have had Biggs, a resident of Fairfield, attend the meeting.

West also said he would have preferred to see Biggs at Tuesday’s City Council meeting instead of Biggs’ attorney.

“I’d rather hear from Mr. Biggs than you,” West told Gilbreth said before Mayor Leon Garcia asked that West remain respectful.

After the vote, Gilbreth said his client wants to know from the city what it envisions for the land.

The Biggs’ own about 112 acres near the NVUSD parcels. According to county records, the Biggs in February 2008 received a lot line adjustment to create two new parcels, including a 70-acre lot of a relatively flat land.

The city has initiated eminent domain proceedings in at least three other instances over the past two decades.