Downtown Manteca’s future won’t be built at the expense of “crowding” existing single family homes.

Proposed zoning rules aimed at making downtown more enticing for private sector investment won’t overpower adjoining neighborhoods.

The Planning Commission when they meet Thursday at 6 p.m. will consider revised commercial mixed use (CMU) zoning rules aimed at making projects with retail on the first floor and residential on floors above more practical include:

*Reducing the maximum building height within 30 feet of the property line of a parcel with a single family dwelling from the current 75 feet down to 35 feet.  Projects farther away can be up to 75 feet.

*Front, side and rear setbacks would be 10 feet instead of the current zero feet.

*But for new construction next to adjacent single family homes, the side and rear setbacks would be changed to a 15-fooot minimum.

The Manteca City Council earlier this year increased the standard allowed height of buildings in three zoning districts — commercial mixed use, business industrial park, and commercial neighborhood —  from 45 feet to 75 feet.

They also pumped up the height limit in a  fourth zone — R-3 which is high density residential such as for apartments — from 45 feet to 55 feet or four stories.

In comparison, the six-story Great Wolf hotel comes to 83 feet at its highest point. It is located in a zone that doesn’t have a maximum height limit.

Medium residential or R-2 zoning  remains at 35 feet as a maximum height.

The 75-foot height limit isn’t arbitrary.

It takes into account the firefighting and rescue capabilities of the Manteca Fire Department.

It is also roughly the height that separates a medium-rise building from a high-rise building.

Past that point, construction requirements start to add costs including with complex fire suppression systems.

There is a downtown project moving forward through the early stages of the entitlement process that benefits from the rule change.

It involves a parcel on the northwest corner of Yosemite and Sycamore avenues in downtown Manteca.

Plans call for a 5-story affordable senior living complex with commercial on the ground floor.

The building is expected to be 75 feet tall — 8 feet lower than the 500-room Great Wolf resort — and will be orientated toward Yosemite Avenue.

The commercial entrance, though will be accessed from the corner — a first for the downtown district.

The commercial space will cover roughly 2,100 square feet.

The lobby entrance to the apartment portion will be from Sycamore Avenue immediately north of the commercial. It will allow access to one of two stairways and an elevator.

It will also access a 15-stall parking area tucked under the second floor with a vehicle entrance from the alley.

To contact Dennis Wyatt, email dwyatt@manetcabulletin.com