The City of Lathrop will officially partner with the Banta Unified School District to create a 16-acre community park that will be used by the adjacent school during the day and the community of River Islands the rest of the time.

The Lathrop City Council approved a consent calendar item on Monday that would allow the joint-use agreement between the city and the district to develop 16 acres of community park space adjacent to the STEAM Academy at River Islands – located at the corner of Somerston Parkway and Marina Drive – that will benefit both the district and the residents that live in the area.

As part of the agreement the city will receive an easement for 8.7 acres of land adjacent to the school and will in exchange provide the River Islands Development with a credit 8.7 acres of community park under the Quimby Act – the assembly bill signed into law by Jerry Brown that allows cities to use developer fees to provide parks and other open space amenities.

And it won’t be the first time that the city has entered into a contract like this with the STEAM Academy.

According to the staff report prepared for the council on the item, the city entered into a similar agreement in July of 2006 during the first phase of construction in River Islands for the joint use of the sports fields at the same location – an agreement that expired in 2011. Now that the first phase of construction in River Islands is nearly complete, according to the staff report, the agreement was updated and brought back to the council for final approval.

The agreement that was approved by the council will be in place for the next 50 years – through 2072 – with a built-in, automatic renewal designed to ensure that the space will remain dedicated for public use for the foreseeable future.

As part of the agreement, the district will be responsible for performing all the maintenance and repair of the joint use area and agrees to seek reimbursement from the River Islands funding authority and the community facilities district that serves the area. The City of Lathrop will not be responsible for any of the ongoing costs to maintain the public facility.

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