More than adequate wastewater treatment capacity is helping promote affordable housing in Manteca.
That is the conclusion of the housing element update - a state mandated planning document - that is before the Planning Commission for approval on Tuesday. The commission meets at 7 p.m. at the Civic Center, 1001 W. Center St.
The document credits the downturn in the economy coupled with the completion of the third phase of the treatment plant expansion with taking pressure off the need for developers to enter into development agreements that include the payment of unrestricted “bonus bucks” to secure sewer allocation certainty over multiple years.
Manteca - with wastewater treatment plant capacity already in place - has the ability to serve 89,000 residents. That is 20,000 more people than Manteca’s current estimated population of 69,000.
That is on top of a fourth phase that will add additional capacity. It is targeted to start construction in 2012.
The document notes, though, that the city is moving back toward using the old system of allocating sewer capacity once a year on a first come, first served basis under the language of the growth management ordinance that limits sewer allocations to 3.9 percent each year.
That could prove detrimental to developers with projects that will take multiple years to build. Developers will still have the option, therefore, to enter into development agreements. While the city has suspended the assessment of bonus bucks for five years, developers can also negotiate other amenities and improvements in exchange for securing sewer allocation certainty.
The housing report notes the suspending of the bonus bucks has essentially dropped the fees - growth-related and construction specific - for an entry level 1,200-square foot home with three bedrooms and two bathrooms by 20 percent going from more than $40,000 down to $32,329.
It has also lowered the per unit fees for apartment complexes down to $21,270 to also reflect a reduction in excess of 20 percent.
The housing element study indicated Manteca has the potential to add 14,555 residents between this year and 2014 to bring Manteca’s population to 83,598.
That is based on the city maxing out at its 3.9 percent growth cap which currently is roughly 900 housing units a year. Manteca is now building at a rate one third of that pace. It is a pace, though, that is almost triple that of Stockton and nearly 40 times stronger than Modesto in terms of new home starts on an annual basis.
That is the conclusion of the housing element update - a state mandated planning document - that is before the Planning Commission for approval on Tuesday. The commission meets at 7 p.m. at the Civic Center, 1001 W. Center St.
The document credits the downturn in the economy coupled with the completion of the third phase of the treatment plant expansion with taking pressure off the need for developers to enter into development agreements that include the payment of unrestricted “bonus bucks” to secure sewer allocation certainty over multiple years.
Manteca - with wastewater treatment plant capacity already in place - has the ability to serve 89,000 residents. That is 20,000 more people than Manteca’s current estimated population of 69,000.
That is on top of a fourth phase that will add additional capacity. It is targeted to start construction in 2012.
The document notes, though, that the city is moving back toward using the old system of allocating sewer capacity once a year on a first come, first served basis under the language of the growth management ordinance that limits sewer allocations to 3.9 percent each year.
That could prove detrimental to developers with projects that will take multiple years to build. Developers will still have the option, therefore, to enter into development agreements. While the city has suspended the assessment of bonus bucks for five years, developers can also negotiate other amenities and improvements in exchange for securing sewer allocation certainty.
The housing report notes the suspending of the bonus bucks has essentially dropped the fees - growth-related and construction specific - for an entry level 1,200-square foot home with three bedrooms and two bathrooms by 20 percent going from more than $40,000 down to $32,329.
It has also lowered the per unit fees for apartment complexes down to $21,270 to also reflect a reduction in excess of 20 percent.
The housing element study indicated Manteca has the potential to add 14,555 residents between this year and 2014 to bring Manteca’s population to 83,598.
That is based on the city maxing out at its 3.9 percent growth cap which currently is roughly 900 housing units a year. Manteca is now building at a rate one third of that pace. It is a pace, though, that is almost triple that of Stockton and nearly 40 times stronger than Modesto in terms of new home starts on an annual basis.
