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Manteca: It was tumbleweeds everywhere in ‘91 as opposed to more and more dead yards today
PERSPECTIVE
tumbleweed
A tumbleweed caught in fencing Thursday afternoon along Sherman Avenue at Manteca High.

A tumbleweed — once the unofficial shrub of Manteca — rolled across Moffat Boulevard on Thursday afternoon much to the amusement of two young girls playing nearby.

In the process, it performed a minor miracle of sorts.

It got traffic on Moffat to slow down.

The thorny dried out Russian thistle whose seeds were inadvertently brought to these shores among flax seed in 1873, was being propelled by drying 15 mph winds.

It finally came to rest entangled in a wrought iron fence and shrubbery by the recently  expanded Manteca High student parking lot along Sherman Avenue.

In a way, it was a flashback to Manteca circa 1991 when the city was inundated with literally hundreds upon hundreds of tumbleweeds every year.

They routinely got caught under vehicles by drivers not paying attention.

The sandy loam south of the 120 Bypass at the time was sparsely dotted with small farms and was prime growing terrain for the Russian thistle.

As such, Caltrans periodically throughout the year ran the equivalent of thistle plows (think snow plows) down segments of the Bypass that had K-rail along some lanes. The Bypass was configured at the time as alternating two lanes, one lane to accommodate passing lanes.

One enterprising East Union High teen created a massive spray painted  tumbleweed winter castle complete with table, chairs and other touches to serve dinner to impress his girlfriend.

There were a lot of tumbleweeds back in 1991 in Manteca.

What there wasn’t were a lot of front yards with 100 percent dead vegetation.

A drive Thursday down Powers Avenue from Shasta School to Moffat Boulevard tallied 10 completely yellow and brown front yards.

Most weeds, as well as dead grass, weren’t high enough to constitute an enhanced fire threat.

And to be clear, the central or older part of Manteca is not the only place where you will find dead front lawns and vegetation to match.

There is an unhealthy sprinkling of them even in neighborhoods yet to reach the 10-year mark of existence.

It makes you wonder why the City Council is devoting such much time to debating flag policy when they should be hashing out ways to prevent Manteca from emulating Trona.

Trona is a small Mojave Desert sulfur mining town near Death Valley. Soil conditions are so poor there that grass doesn’t grow. The high school football field where the Trona Tornadoes (aka “ The Sandmen”) play is 100 dirt and sand.

It would seem making sure Manteca doesn’t look like a dump should be a higher priority than scoping out ways to avoid flying the Pride flag over city hall for five days a year.

Manteca needs a basic and clear front yard maintenance ordinance as well as the manpower and willpower to enforce it.

We’re not talking a Del Webb inspired set of rules rigidly enforced. Those rules can drill down as far as the color and type of large planters that can be placed in front yards as it has in some of its age-restricted communities across California and The West.

The city doesn’t need to dictate whether you need grass, river rock, shrubs, ferns, or whatever.

They need a front yard ordinance that is clear on two key points:

*Grass and vegetation must not be allowed to die. If it does, it needs to be removed and replaced.

*A certain percent of the front yard must be permeable. That means you can’t cement it over. Absorption of rainwater and runoff by front yards are factored into the city’s storm system is engineered and built.

Some might think this would be government overreach.

But given how front yards in most subdivisions built after 1960 have CC&Rs (covenants, conditions, and restrictions) that address yard maintenance adopted when the city approved developments, people have already literally bought into it.

Of course, the city will tell you enforcing CC&Rs is a civil matter.

True, but the fact the city required them in the first place underscores the fact the city had the legal right to do so and a vested interest in requiring them.

It’s time the city stepped up and used that legal right to stop the downward trend started during a series of droughts over the past 25 years. It accelerated during the foreclosure crisis and picked up steam during the pandemic.

There is a precedent for Manteca leaders not to sit on their proverbial hands.

Stockton-Manteca-Tracy was literally ground zero for foreclosed homes in the USA based on the percentage of homes with mortgages in default.

Manteca responded after property maintenance issues kept getting worse over the course of several years with what many called “one of the nation’s toughest” property maintenance ordinances.

It put the property owners 100 percent on the hook not just for making sure broken windows were at least boarded up and wood painted to match the home’s exterior and other related issues, but also for not letting yards become fire hazards and eye sores.

The draconian fines imposed following a grace period after being notified and work not starting to remedy the matter, was $1,000 a day.

If homes and yards in such conditions during the foreclose crisis was considered detrimental enough for Manteca to take such a step, then what is going on now certainly justifies similar measured action as well.

The fines might not be $1,000 a day, but they can still be size-able enough to force action.

And if it isn’t, then the city should notice they will contract work out and bill the property owner even if it ultimately requires a lien.

Private yard maintenance companies could remove all dead vegetation.

Then, they could bring back dead grass by making sure it is watered twice at least twice a week and mowed once every two weeks.

And if there is nothing but dirt, the city could have the private concerns plant and maintain the grass.

It can get expensive really quick but the cost ultimately would be paid back even it it were a lien at the time of sale.

Draconian, perhaps.

But it is clear there are a lot of property owners in Manteca not even making an effort to maintain their front yards.

It is also true there is a sliding scale of  sort in terms of neglect.

The city could have a policy if they verify that 80 percent of a front yard has been dead for at least a month and it is not in the process of being replanted or landscaped then the city will step in.

Rest assured, the general maintenance and look of the city overall is likely a bigger concern for Manteca residents than what third-tier flags, if any, are attached to a flagpole that hardly anyone notices in front of the Civic Center.

 

This column is the opinion of editor, Dennis Wyatt, and does not necessarily represent the opinions of The Bulletin or 209 Multimedia. He can be reached at dwyatt@mantecabulletin.com