One of Manteca’s most problematic infill parcels has been proposed for a new commercial building.
Much of the 16,877 square foot parcel at 160 Pacific Road immediately south of the United Cerebral Palsy facility that works with the disabled is within a 100-foot wide PG&E easement for high tension power lines that cuts across the property at an angle.
Only landscaping and “flat work” such as parking lots, sidewalks and such are allowed within such easements,
That said, there is still space on the southeast corner of the parcel where GESCO can build a 4,120 square-foot building to house offices and stories,
The rest of the property will include landscaping, lighting and parking for 14 vehicles.
It will also mean another section of sidewalk along Pacific Road will be put in place.
Pacific Road was annexed into the city prior to 1990 without any curbs, gutters, or sidewalks.
The 100-foot wide easement and the accompanying transmission lines slash through the middle of Manteca.
It is most noticeable crossing a vacant parcel across from the Civic Center at 1001 W. Center St. as well as the nearby Manteca Marketplace anchored by SaveMart.
Developed commercial uses under the easement include a used car lot and parking for shopping centers.
In older neighborhoods, there are places where housing not only crowd the towers but are in a number of cases partially under the power lines.
Residents in the 300 block of North Maple that have the towers in their front yards even park vehicles under the steel superstructure
But in areas developed after 1960, there were setbacks required.
The tract subdivisions developed near Shasta School in the 1960s and early 1970s split the 100-foot wide easement with homes backing up to it on each side giving them oversized backyards.
The city’s smallest park with a picnic table and trellis shade structure along with a basketball court sans basketball standard and hoop is part of a parcel on the southeast corner of Elm Avenue and North Street rendered useless for anything else by the PG&E easement.
In newer areas, such as by Sierra High, the city required developers to create a massive greenspace with sidewalks within the easement.
The Manteca Planning Commission will review the GESCO project when they meet Thursday at 6 pm.
To contact Dennis Wyatt, email dwyatt@mantecabulletin.com
