Down the Drain

From the Manteca Bulletin:

In January of 2006 Villa Ticino West received 151 sewer allocations from the city, which if left unused would be forfeited after two years. Sewer allocations give newly built houses guaranteed access to the city’s waste water treatment plant. Included with the Villa Ticino West agreement were plans for the developer to build a new fire station to cover the northwestern area of the city.
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Jim Rachels, who spoke for the property owners of Villa Ticino West, said the developers' original plans to construct a fire station still remain, but an additional two years will be required to use all of the awarded sewer allocations.
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Rachels said delays on the part of the city have slowed down construction of new housing...Rachels said the lack of interest in the housing market has also played a prominent role in delaying the project. "Aside from the delay, the housing market has slowed down," Rachel said. "The realities are foreclosures are going to be at an all time high."

Councilman Jack Snyder said changing the Villa Ticino West agreement would only encourage other developers to do the same. "Probably every developer is going to come into see us to ask for a continuance," Snyder said.

Mayor Willie Weatherford said three additional developers have already taken interest in extending their agreements with the city...Weatherford said the spiraling housing market would not support the construction of a large number of houses, which could jeopardize existing sewer allocation agreements. "Those builders will be wanting for us to throw them out the window and re-negotiate," Weatherford said.

Rachels echoed the concerns of Weatherford and said many developers may not want to pay the required fees to keep their sewer allocations. "If they let them go because of the climate, people may not be willing to pay for them," Rachels said.