Historic Lathrop could soon be getting a facelift.

Earlier this week, the Lathrop City Council directed staff to bring back options for a community fountain and archways that denote the area of the community that actually predates the City of Lathrop, which wasn’t incorporated until 1989.

That means that while other parts of the community — like Woodfield Estates, Stonebridge, Mossdale, River Islands, and Stanford Crossing — all have design standards and beautification elements that were adopted by local officials after the city was incorporated, Historic Lathrop does not. Historic Lathrop essentially runs from 7th Street/Howland Road to I-5 and from Louise Avenue to Lathrop Road.

The council’s action this week led to the creation of a Community Improvement Project for the upgrades and authorized the allocation of $100,000 of Measure C funds that will be used for the design work necessary to bring back more detailed options to the council to consider.

While Lathrop has grown by leaps and bounds in recent years thanks to large master-planned communities and new development, the council has made it a point to ensure that all residents of the community are treated fairly and equitably, and that means the amenities that are provided.

For example, the City of Lathrop made the decision to include a cutting-edge skate park with the design and construction of what became the Lathrop Generations Center, the city chose not to abandon its first skatepark on 7th Street – which featured weathered equipment and had become the target of vandals.

Even though the city removed the aging equipment that was installed at the park, the council authorized purchasing prefabricated elements for the skatepark that are expected to stand up better to the use that such a park requires. The decision also ensured that residents living on the east side of I-5 still had access to a skatepark.

While Lathrop largely lived in the shadow of its bigger and at the time more affluent neighbors during its early days, the city has become one of the fastest-growing in all of California thanks the combination of residential and light industrial development that has occurred over the past decade, swelling the city’s population and generating revenue that allows Lathrop to do things beautify the older parts of town.

Earlier this year the council adopted unified standards for parks so that the design elements included in newer parks will match with the city’s existing parks, ordering up trash receptacles, picnic tables, and other items that will be equally distributed amongst all of the city’s parks.

To contact Bulletin reporter Jason Campbell email jcampbell@mantecabulletin.com or call 209.249.3544.