CenterPoint Business Park needs to get a “spine” — as in a spine road.

That appears as the only way a proposed 486 truck parking yard could succeed under a condition placed on it previously by the Manteca Planning Commission that the Manteca City Council modified slightly on Tuesday night.

Commissioners concerned about truck noise through the night impacting nearby Del Webb at Woodbridge residents had restricted hours of operation for the proposed truck parking yard to 6 a.m. through 8 p.m.

CenterPoint appealed that restriction to the City Council.

A representative of the firm noted that they had contacted 10 prospective buyers of the truck parking yard that said the 14-hour window was problematic enough it would likely keep them from purchasing the property. Potential buyers prefer to be able to operate such a truck parking yard 24/7.

The City Council went a bit further. Noting they were concerned about the ability of residents in the nearby Del Webb at Woodbridge neighborhood to be able to enjoy their yards in the evening as well as sleep at night, on a 4-1 vote the council further reduced the allowed hours of operation to 8 a.m. to 5 p.m.  Councilman Gary Singh noted those hours were more reflective of a typical workday.

Councilman Dave Breitenbucher was the dissenting vote. He wasn’t against restricting hours as he voiced support of keeping the commission’s recommended limits on operations to 6 a.m. to 8 p.m.

Breitenbucher said he didn’t want to make the hours so restrictive that it would prevent some truck drivers from renting space in the yard and instead to park along city streets and throughout Manteca.

“I’m worried about the impact of trucks throughout Manteca,” Breitenbucher said.

Concerns that 24-hour truck traffic dumped directly onto Airport Way from the truck parking lot and the noise it would create is what prompted the commission to impose the restriction in the first place. The developer had indicated the yard would generate 816 truck trips on a daily basis.

The project involves building a private road to intersect with Airport Way at a point south of Crothall Laundry Services at a point roughly 300 feet north of Lathrop Road. That road — that will have traffic signals — was not part of the original CenterPoint masterplan. When Daisywood Drive — the western entrance into the 1,420 home Del Webb neighborhood is added to the mix — it will create three signalized intersections in quick succession as is the case on East Yosemite Avenue from Button Avenue to Commerce/Northwoods Avenue.

Mary Salvador, a Del Webb resident whose home backs up to Airport Way, noted that her home will shake often times when a truck hits a pothole. 

“I want to be able to sleep at night,” Salvador said in urging the council to keep restricted hours of operation in place.

The new road connecting with Airport Way generating 816 truck trips a day is within the perimeters for the overall project in terms of truck traffic generation but CenterPoint never was designed originally with a road in that location. The road — coupled with the stop and go truck movements the three signalized intersections would toss Jake brake and idling engine noises into the mix.

Other Del Webb residents as well as Mayor Ben Cantu talked about how grating truck noises can be under certain conditions. Residents often referred to jarring noises that come from the Union Pacific Railroad intermodal yard that is located farther to the west than the proposed truck parking yard. They noted that while the noise levels may be within city standards, a movement such as an empty truck trailer going onto a speed bump can make a sound like a drum being hit.

“A lot of it has to do with the conditions of the roads,” Cantu said.

The mayor referenced being stopped at the red light on Lathrop Road when a truck was traveling down Airport Way hit a pothole making a loud and annoying sound.

Lou Tallarico, a longtime proponent of CenterPoint that resides near Roth Road and Airport Way, said it supported the concerns of Del Webb residents while encouraging the city to work with CenterPoint to complete the firm’s private spine road that connects to Roth Road.

The inability — of lack of effort or desire — by CenterPoint to secure an easement through adjoining Union Pacific property to extend the spine road to the proposed truck yard prompted their solution to add a private road that would connect with Airport Way. 

An existing 153 space truck parking yard uses the spine road exclusively to access public roads.

Council members indicated a willingness to lift the restricted hours of operation for the proposed truck yard once traffic to and from the 16.12-acre parking facility would be able to go to and from Roth Road via the spine road.

To contact Dennis Wyatt, email dwyatt@mantecabulletin.com