It was just two letters expressing displeasure with growth or was it?

Manteca residents Cindy Weese as well as Anthony Salinas submitted comments that were read into the record during Tuesday’s Zoom council meeting that was livestreamed via the city’s website and on Comcast Channel 97.

They referenced “unfettered” growth in Manteca and how developer fees appear not to be covering the costs that growth is creating therefore contributing to the city’s current fiscal crisis.

Weese and Salinas want to see the city stop approving more residential and commercial projects until Manteca gets growth fees addressed and other growth-related issue including whether the water supply is sustainable for a city poised to zoom past 100,000 residents in a matter of a few years.

While that may be problematic from a legal point to accomplish with close to 9,000 lots that have development entitlements under state law or in the process of getting them, they did mention one particular course of action that could be used to hammer the council to slow down growth.

They want the council to “just say no” to any new annexations.

And if they are serious, they could easily start a groundswell effort piggybacking on the upcoming 2022 municipal election when the mayor’s seat and two council posts are on the ballot to make additional annexations a major issue.

There are now two projects — the Hat Ranch with its 739 housing units southeast of Pillsbury Road and Woodward Avenue and the Lumina Project with its 827 homes on the southwest corner of Airport Way and Woodward Avenue — that are being reviewed but are on land that has to also be annexed to the city.

At the same time projects north of Lathrop Road for new neighborhoods are getting ready to move forward that would also require annexation.

Given Mayor Ben Cantu’s sentiments to have a freeze on building permits until developer fees were looked at and adjusted upwards was batted down due to legal precedents, the freeze on annexations might be the only viable option for those that want to slow down Manteca’s growth.

It would make it tough for elected leaders to straddle the fence given the land isn’t in the city and the fact there are roughly 9,000 buildable lots and apartment units already at some point in the approval process.

City workers clean

up 3 tons of trash

More than 30 municipal workers volunteered several hours of their time last week to remove 6,000 pounds of debris, litter, and weeds from a stretch of Moffat Boulevard from Austin Road to Woodward Avenue.

It comes on the heels of a previous city hall staff volunteer effort that cleaned up the area around the 120 Bypass overpass across Moffat Boulevard.

The effort is part of a new imitative the city is taking after the City Council — hearing complaints from residents loud and clear — literally made cleaning up the city a top priority.

It has also included teaming up with Caltrans to accelerate cleanup along the 120 Bypass and segments of the Highway 99 corridor as well as tackle sound wall graffiti.

Other projects municipal management is working on is a citywide spring cleanup that would involve the city hauling off trash either placed in front of homes or taken to a central collection spot, an adoption program for organizations and such to clean roadways and specific areas around Manteca to clean up litter and other debris, and a cleanup effort involving council and community members.

To contact Dennis Wyatt, email dwyatt@mantecabulletin.com