Could River Islands soon be getting a gymnasium?
When the Ripon Planning Commission meets on Wednesday, Oct. 20 – inside of the council chambers at Lathrop City Hall, located at 390 Towne Centre Drive, at 6 p.m. – they will consider a proposal from the developer to construct a private, 18,502 square foot gymnasium on a 1.7-acre site located at the corner of Penrose Lane and Garden Farms Avenue in the Lakeside East Planning District.
The gymnasium is slated to include an indoor basketball and volleyball court, a stage, bleacher seats, a concession area, restrooms, and storage areas, and is expected to host various sports and special events for the adjacent K-8 elementary school currently under construction.
If it gets the green light from the planning commission the site could potentially be used for future recreational and community-oriented events programmed by the city.
And since the gym is being constructed next to a future elementary school location a dedicated parking lot for events that will be held on site is not necessary as the developer will use the existing off street parking included in the development of the school site. Additional bike parking spaces were added to supplement the bike parking spaces that are already available on site.
Currently the 1.7-acre site is part of the larger 16.71-acre site that the school – which will fall under the purview of the Banta Unified School District – is being developed on. An application to subdivide the larger parcel to keep the gymnasium separate has been submitted and is currently being reviewed by city staff.
What was originally supposed to be a master planned community with 11,000 homes got even larger earlier this year when the city granted permission to add 4,010 new residential housing units to bring the total to 15,010. The approval also granted permission for a mixed-use “town center” location and added a “transit-oriented development” that will complement the planned Valley Link transit station.
The Lathrop Planning Commission meets on the third Wednesday of every month at Lathrop City Hall – located at 390 Towne Centre Drive – at 6 p.m. For additional information, or to obtain a copy of the upcoming agenda, visit the City of Lathrop’s website at www.ci.lathrop.ca.us.
To contact reporter Jason Campbell email jcampbell@mantecabulletin.com or call 209.249.3544.
