Escalon housing project, large regional park on hold

Real estate market, sewer woes to blame

By RICHARD T. ESTRADA
restrada@modbee.com

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ESCALON -- The region's real estate meltdown claimed another victim last week when Escalon confirmed that a 479-lot development and an adjacent 31-acre park have been put on the shelf.

"We haven't had any recent discussions with the builder, primarily due to the downturn in the region's housing market," City Manager Greg Greeson said.

Since the developer was going to pay for the $6.5 million regional park -- creating it in tandem with the subdivision -- it won't go forward without the homes.

PDF: Delayed Development

The project isn't dead, Greeson said Thursday, but he doesn't expect action on it until the market rebounds.

The City Council approved the tentative subdivision map and the environmental impact report two years ago, but Frontiers Community Builders of Stockton had yet to do any major work on the site.

FCB did not return The Bee's request for information, but city records show the project would have been south of Escalon on property that would have been annexed into the city.

In the two years since the council gave its initial approval, another issue has come up: Escalon doesn't have a sewer system capable of handling those homes.

The construction schedule was for homes to be built over at least five years, with fewer than 100 a year. Even at that rate, the sewer system would be overwhelmed.

The city's sewer plant is more than capable of processing the additional waste, Greeson said, but a trunk line carrying waste to the plant is nearing capacity.

"It has the capacity for another 150 (dwellings) and we have reserved those for residential and commercial projects that would be in the city limits," he added. "Infill projects could take up all the remaining space in the line."

The trunk line, a large pipe collecting waste from several smaller pipes, would have to be expanded before FCB could move ahead with its housing project.

"That's in our master plan, but the council has decided it's best to sit tight and look at it for next year," Greeson said, noting that FCB would be expected to pay for the work needed to serve its project.

The delay will please residents in south Escalon who feared its impact on traffic and agriculture. The area is thick with almond and walnut trees, and a tomato processing plant is a mile away. Residents had banded together to request a second traffic study because they thought the first one didn't take into account the thousands of trucks visiting the cannery.

No homes also means no park.

"We purchased the 31 acres for the park with the intent that it would be a regional park," Greeson said. "That's still the city's intention, though we don't have any money to develop it. Frontier Community Builders was going to build it in phases, as it moved forward with its houses.

"We'll keep looking for money to build the park, but there probably isn't going to be anything substantial out there for a time."

Robert Cabral Regional Park was going to have ball fields and expansive grasslands, and a large segment would have remained in its natural state. Its target audience would have been residents of southern San Joaquin and northern Stanislaus counties.

Bee staff writer Richard T. Estrada can be reached at restrada@modbee.com or 578-2304.