The lone holdout in selling a sliver of property to the City of Lathrop for the Lathrop Road widening project has used every available chance to make her feelings about the issue known.
And now the Lathrop City Council will decide whether or not they want to take her property regardless of how strenuously she objects.
After months of back-and-forth between Adriana Lopez and Lathrop city officials – including a pledge by some on the council to halt the project until all community concerns can be addressed – the council will now vote on whether to condemn a 320-square foot piece of her property – located in the 500 block of Lathrop Road – to allow the long-standing project to move forward as planned.
The Lathrop City Council will meet on Monday, June 5 at 7 p.m. at Lathrop City Hall – located at 390 Towne Centre Drive.
According to the staff report, the project – which will widen Lathrop Road to four lanes – is currently out to bid. In addition to reducing traffic congestion through the heavily-traveled section of roadway, the project is also expected to improve storm drainage, increase pedestrian and bicycle safety and improve connectivity in an area that has become a hub of business for the growing community.
The city offered $1,440 for the piece of property, which was the full amount of the city’s approved appraisal, and it was rejected without a counter offer. Negotiations, according to the staff report, have been unsuccessful.
Part of the friction between Flores and city staff centers on whether or not Lathrop Road, which connects I-5 to Highway 99, is an approved Surface Transportation Assistance Act truck route – an authorized thoroughfare for 53-foot tractor trailers. The legislation, known as STAA, allows trucks that are longer than the State of California allows to travel, and the size of those vehicles and the speed at which they travel is what some homeowners along Lathrop Road have taken issue with.
The proposal is consistent with Lathrop’s General Plan. All indications of the development of Lathrop Road have pointed to a four-lane configuration for years – including the lane positioning of the two at-grade crossings that allow traffic to move unimpeded over heavily traveled railroad tracks. Currently those two-lane bridges condense back down to one lane in each direction on either side.
The city has already posted a Notice of Hearing to adopt a resolution of necessity – the first step in the eminent domain process – and now it is up to the council to determine whether the resolution is approved which would allow the subsequent steps to follow. If the council approves the request by city staff, the city would then file an action of eminent domain with the San Joaquin County Superior Court, and possession would then be sought through a court order.
Despite advancing to this stage, attempts at negotiation in order to find a resolution before it reaches a courtroom will continue, according to the staff report.
To contact reporter Jason Campbell email jcampbell@mantecabulletin.com or call 209.249.3544.
Lathrop may force sale of property for Lathrop Road

