Last year the City of Lathrop issued nine residential entitlement applications that may result in 846 new homes being constructed.

And while the city issued building permits for 389 above moderate residential housing units last year, there were no very low, low, or moderate income houses built in the city during the 12-month span – putting the city very far behind the designated allocation of 1,778 homes in the very low, low, and moderate income ranges to be constructed between 2014 and 2023.

Out of 5,156 homes designated as part of the Regional Housing Needs Allocation, Lathrop has either built or issued permits for 1,797 of them – leaving 3,359 homes remaining to meet the goals set by the San Joaquin Council of Governments.

Since 2014, Lathrop has built only 29 of the 957 allocated moderate income dwelling units, with all of the rest that have been built and permitted under the above moderate threshold – houses which range from $226,000 to above $359,000 depending on the size of the family that lives there.

The number of homes that have been constructed and are being considered were part of a wider discussion last week by the Lathrop Planning Commission as part of the city’s annual housing element progress report for both the Governor’s Office of Planning and Research and the California Department of Housing and Urban Development.

The recommendation will be forwarded on to the Lathrop City Council for its ultimate approval before it is sent to the state.

In order to meet the need for affordable housing in Lathrop, a number of programs have been implemented or are in the process of being implemented as part of the housing element – one of the designated areas within the city’s general plan and one that must be updated regularly to help planners determine the availability of housing options with the state.

Last year the city adopted an ordinance that revised the zoning code to allow single-family developments on sites that are designated for high-density residential uses only if the single-family units are replacing existing single-family units, are on an existing lot of 8,000 square feet or less, or are part of a housing development where the majority of the homes being constructed are of the extremely low, very low, or low-income designations.

The city also revised the zoning code to allow for the permitting of manufactured homes in the same manner as single-family homes, as long as the home is on a permanent foundation.

The new programs are designed to spur development that will cater to a wider range of incomes throughout Lathrop as the city becomes a destination for Bay Area families that are seeking more affordable living conditions – shrinking the supply of available housing within the Central Valley and driving up prices.

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