River Islands at Lathrop is a

planned community A planned community, planned city, planned town, or planned settlement is any community that was carefully planned from its inception and is typically constructed on previously undeveloped land. This contrasts with settlements that evolve ...

on a site in the Sacramento-San Joaquin River Delta in

Lathrop, California Lathrop is a city located south of Stockton in San Joaquin County, California, United States. The 2022 California Census reported that Lathrop's population was 30,659. The city is located in the San Joaquin Valley in Northern California at the ...

, United States. As of 2018, approximately 800 homes of the first-phase of 4,284 houses had been built.

Plan

The developer is the Cambay Group of Walnut Creek, California which is an American subsidiary of Somerston Holdings Limited of the United Kingdom. Plans call for the completion of 11,000 homes, a town center, business parks, and recreational areas over a 25-year development period.Dennis Wyatt, "River Islands eyes 2011 start date," ''Manteca Bulletin,'' August 26 2009
/ref> In 2011, the developers stated construction of homes would not begin until late 2013 or early 2014 at the earliest." In October 2011, Banta Elementary School District approved the purchase of a 30-acre site within River Islands in Lathrop for construction of a k-8 charter school. The 450-student technology school was proposed to open in August 2013 with an eventual expansion for a high school and college. In 2018, the Tri-Valley–San Joaquin Valley Regional Rail Authority indicated its plan to run trains to River Islands as the

Valley Link The Tri-Valley-San Joaquin Valley Regional Rail Authority is a special-purpose district body formed for the sole purpose of providing a public transit connection, known as Valley Link, between Indian gauge, broad-gauge Bay Area Rapid Transit (BAR ...

service's initial terminus.

History

The project was initially proposed in 1996 as a "mega resort" called Gold Rush City with theme parks, golf courses and private homes. After substantial criticism about building within a flood plain, the plan was changed to a planned community surrounded by wide levees.these levees go by "Super levees", the district protecting part of Manteca, Lathrop east of the San Joaquín River, French Camp, and Stockton’s Weston Ranch neighborhood is working toward a $270 million solution to upgrade to 200-year protection level as early as 2030. Since being proposed in 2001, the development has been delayed several years due to lawsuits, concerns about flooding, environmental impact issues and a downturn in the housing market."River Islands project delayed 1 year," Anna Kaplan, ''Stockton Record'', October 11 2007
/ref> To address the issues of flooding, plans call for of levees to surround the community.
/ref> In 2003, Cambay Group settled lawsuits by the

Sierra Club The Sierra Club is an environmental organization with chapters in all 50 United States, Washington D.C., and Puerto Rico. The club was founded on May 28, 1892, in San Francisco, California, by Scottish-American preservationist John Muir, who be ...

by establishing an $8.2 million trust for the protection of local farmland. In 2009, the development company stated that construction would be further delayed because of the downturn in the housing market.

References

External links

*http://www.riverislands.com/ {{DEFAULTSORT:River Islands At Lathrop Planned communities in the United States Planned developments Lathrop, California