After the massive housing tract proposed by Richland Planned Communities collapsed during the economic downturn, a handful of infrastructure projects needed to sustain growth were abandoned.
And that led to headaches for both the City of Lathrop and the Manteca Unified School District.
But the company that has emerged to acquire the majority of the property – Saybrook CLSP LLC – and the rights to develop it has taken major steps to show its willingness to be a community partner by finishing some of the projects left behind, and will continue to do so.
On Monday, the Lathrop City Council gave its blessing to the company to complete construction of the storm water detention pond West of Lathrop High School and install low-flow storm water pumps – granting access to city-owned property under the agreement that they would acquire the same legal access from Manteca Unified School District.
Saybrook had already stepped to the plate to finish the sewer lift station behind Lathrop High School that was left unfinished by contractors who had approached the school board and informed them since they weren’t being paid by the development company, they would be halting construction.
For the first several years of its existence, the high school operated on a septic system and all wastewater had to be trucked away from the site. That changed when Saybrook finished the lift station which allowed the school to connect to the existing city sewer system, and cleared a major hurdle for the development of thousands of homes in what is being called the Central Lathrop Specific Plan.
The city’s blessing for the storm water pond will allow Saybrook to complete more of the vital infrastructure needed to develop the property that was left unfished – with roads, curbs, gutters, sidewalks and even street lights as well as sewer connections being as far as Richland got in its plan to develop the huge swath of land between I-5 and the San Joaquin River.
A staff report prepared for the item noted that in order for the developer to maintain its “aggressive construction schedule” a temporary license and entry permit allowing Saybrook to access city-owned property was approved by City Manager Steve Salvatore in advance of Monday’s board meeting.
The Saybrook project would add an additional 6,800 homes to the city once fully completed – a development that by itself could equal the entire current population of the City of Lathrop. When River Islands and its 11,000 new homes are also factored into the equation, those two developments alone would triple the current population of Lathrop.

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