The Army Corps of Engineers is seeking input on environmental studies that would allow River Islands at Lathrop to build 5.6 miles of levees on the Old River to accommodate the project’s second phase as well as to build 675 boat berths.
The Corps is conducting a public hearing tonight from 6 to 8 p.m. at Lathrop City Hall, 390 Towne Center, to seek input on environmental studies that are part of the permitting process. Public comment is being accepted through Jan. 23.
Cambay Group is seeking to breach a federal levee on the San Joaquin River to accommodate 100 boat berths in the envisioned Lathrop Landing back bay. The developer also is seeking approval for 375 boat berths on the San Joaquin River as well as the Old River and another 100 boat berths on the proposed Paradise Cut Canal.
The developer has already put in place 300-foot wide “super” levees that allowed development to start on the first 4,284 homes. They did so by building a parallel levee to existing levees and then filling it in therefore not requiring a full-scale federal review. Work that the developer is now seeking to do requires federal approval.
The second phase will accommodate the remaining 6,716 homes and 60 percent of the proposed 5 million acres of commercial space.
The project also includes habitat restoration and enhancement areas, set-back and enlarged levees, and a channel enlargement for food projection.
The overall project consists of 4,900 acres on Stewart Tract.
Lathrop Landing is proposed as a 5- to 10-acre back bay water feature along the San Joaquin River adjacent to the town center proposed just west of the Mossdale bridges.
It will include group docks for the temporary berthing of as many as 100 boats. Park facilities and limited, site-appropriate commercial facilities will be developed along the water’s edge.
The evacuation for the back bay has already been done. Docks and piers will be put in place while the area is still dry. Once that work is complete, the levee will be breached. When the water levels in the back bay and the river had equalized, the back bay entrance will be dredged to a sufficient depth for boat passage.
River Islands also wants to create a new channel between the proposed setback levee and the existing Paradise Cut on the south side of the project that is being dubbed Paradise Cut Canals.
Twenty-four docks with 120 berths are proposed along the San Joaquin River and 51 docks with 255 berths along the Old River. The docks will belong to nearly 1,000 homes proposed for atop the levee ringing River Islands. Fishing piers for public use will also be placed near most of the docks.
The second phase also includes two parallel bridge structures across the San Joaquin River near the River Islands village center that is dubbed the Golden Valley Parkway Bridge. It will be similar to the two bridge decks already in place further to the west at Bradshaw Crossing.
