Mike Morowit gets smart growth.

And in doing so he was willing to overlook perceived shortcomings with parking.

Charlie Halford gets smart growth as well.

But he wasn’t willing to overlook what, to paraphrase his concerns, is a clear cut case of “asking for parking problems.”

The parking the two council members were weighing Tuesday involved a trend that the California Legislature has determined — through a series of adopted zoning mandates for housing and density — is the wave of the future.

And that wave is designed to address the state’s chronic housing shortfall, air quality, and making communities more livable by reducing reliance — or addiction depending on one’s perspective — to cars.

The project the conversation on parking took place over involves demolishing a triplex, a commercial building, and shuttered children’s daycare facility on the northwest corner of Davis Street and Walnut Avenue.

In its place, will be a three-story apartment building with 24 units attached to a two-story structure that will have a neighborhood market on the ground floor and offices in the second floor.

The project — which is restricted to the store operating within the hours of 5 a.m. and 11 p.m. while the hardest alcohol allowed would be beer and wine sales — was approved on a 3-1 vote.

Halford dissented while Mayor Gary Singh had recused himself due to having previous business dealings with the property owner.

The endeavor will also require crosswalks, along with stop signs, at the intersection.

Council approval was needed for a rezone to make the property synch with the commercial mixed use zone indicated it should ideally have in the general plan.

The current zoning would allow neighborhood commercial uses such as a 7-Eleven but not the housing.

Infill doesn’t simply refer

to just using vacant parcels

The parking debate is at the heart of the push for infill projects that rely on existing infrastructure, have easy access to transit services, and usually are near established commercial areas with shopping and dining.

When you say “infill”, many people assume it is  reference to vacant lots or parcels.

But in the world of California planning, it also means redeveloping property by replacing existing uses with high density uses.

The neighborhood market/apartment complex addresses increased density while adding an element — the market — to increase the walkability of the existing neighborhood as it is within walking distance of a number of homes .

As such, it is where the rubber meets the road in the car versus walking debate.

When it was noted by the city planner that apartment complexes along Center Street and Union Road just west of the Manteca Civic Center were just a “block and a half away”, Halford observed “it’s a long block and a half.”

The exchange came after an earlier observation by Morowit that the housing-above-market strategy that others could walk to sustained strong neighborhoods a century ago in cities including downtown Manteca and the surrounding city core.

That prompted Morowit to muse that “smart growth” was once “old growth.”

“We need to fill in the city as much as possible,” Morowit added.

The parking aspect involves the reduced stall count the city is allowing in order to make the project pencil out so it could be built.

The market — which will have entrances from both streets — will not have parking in front, but rather in the back.

At the same time, the city’s parking requirements for the 24 two bedroom, two bathroom market-rate apartments is being reduced.

There is more than one — and less than two — spaces calculate for the tenants.

And while the city is requiring each tenant to have an assigned parking space, there is a concern the 900-pound gorilla in the neighborhood — the California DMV office immediately to the west of the project — will infringe on the available parking for apartment residents.

Currently, those with business at the DMV will not only take available on-street parking when the DMV lot is full, but will also park in lots of nearby offices and a bank.

The design of the development with apartments and the market/offices bordering the street with a sidewalk and small landscape buffer, is likely to discourage DMV patrons from using the parking lot since it won’t be easily visible from the street.

And while the on-street parking along Walnut and Davis bordering the development weren’t taken into account in the city’s parking requirements, they are available.

What was not brought up in the conversation was the option of limiting street parking — at least in front of the store — to 20 minutes.

The nature of a neighborhood market means such a time limit is more than ample.

Urban planners, just as staff shared Tuesday, believe the ease of parking needs to give in order to make infill projects as envisioned by the state work.

Such a strategy can encourage people to walk to access shopping and such that is nearby and even use transit for longer, in-city trips.

It was noted there are six established Manteca Transit bus stops within a 10-minute walk of the project.

And it may also mean people may have to park on the street and not necessarily in front of their place of residence.

The 1,924-square-foot neighborhood market is smaller than a 7-Eleven which are typically 2,500 to 4,000 square feet.

There is roughly 1,900 square feet of office space on the second floor.

The fact all of the 24 two bedroom and two bathrooms is a nod to the well-established trend that such units are typically rented to two individuals that often aren’t in a relationship of any sort.

That makes the market price of such a unit, based on two bedrooms currently in Manteca, around $2,100. That breaks down to $1,050 apiece.

To contact Dennis Wyatt, email dwyatt@mantecabullerin.com