AGENDA TITLE:
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Provide Direction to Staff on the Improvement Deferral Agreement at 1230 South Central Avenue (Lodi Academy) (PW)
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MEETING DATE:
March 18, 2026
PREPARED BY:
Sean Nathan, Interim Public Works Director
recommendation
RECOMMENDED ACTION:
Provide direction to staff on the Improvement Deferral Agreement at 1230 South Central Avenue.
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BACKGROUND INFORMATION:
Chapter 15.44 of the Lodi Municipal Code (LMC) requires property owners to complete the installation and/or repairs of public improvements along their frontage as a condition of the issuance of a building permit or development approval.
In 1986, the owner of the property located at 1230 South Central Avenue, Northern California Conference Association of the Seventh-Day Adventists (Lodi Academy), entered into an Improvement Deferral Agreement with the City in order to postpone the installation of required frontage improvements. The deferred improvements consisted of curb, gutter, sidewalk and landscaping along Cherokee Lane and Poplar Street. This agreement stated that the improvements needed be completed when the adjacent property developed, or by December 31, 2000, whichever comes first.
Amendment No. 1 to the agreement was executed in January of 1996. This addendum incorporated the Cherokee Lane frontage improvements into the City’s Central City Revitalization project and assessed the property through the Lodi Central City Revitalization Assessment District. This addendum also extended the deadline for the Poplar Street frontage improvements to December 31, 2010. Due to the economic downturn prior to the deadline, these improvements were not completed.
In 2016 Lodi Academy needed to make repairs to their gymnasium. The repairs were estimated to cost $700,000. In order to help the school spread out the costs of their required frontage improvements, the City agreed to continue to defer the Poplar Street frontage improvements an additional 10 years. Amendment No. 2 was executed in August of 2016, and set a new deadline for the deferred improvements to December 31, 2026, or at the request of the City (whichever occurs first).
In 2024, Lodi Academy submitted a building permit that exceeded the LMC threshold for requiring frontage improvements. That permit restarted discussions on the required Poplar Street improvements, and what (if any) of the improvements would the City allow to be deferred. That permit was never actually issued, and the City ultimately raised the LMC threshold in early 2026, which would have removed this permit’s requirement for the frontage improvements. However, with the December 31, 2026 deadline still approaching, Lodi Academy still desires a modification to the current deferral agreement terms.
On February 10, 2026, a letter was sent from Fred Bunch (the Lodi Academy representative) to Mayor Yepez requesting that the City split the cost of the improvements with the school. In that letter, the school estimated the total cost of the deferred improvements (curb, gutter and sidewalk) to be $355,000. Based on quotes that the school received, the sidewalk-only portion of that work is estimated to be between $45,000 - $62,500.
Staff recommends to uphold the LMC requirement that the property owner is responsible for the installation of their frontage improvements. Given that there have been multiple complaints in the past few year with regards to pedestrian safety in this general area, and that this is a school site, staff recommends requiring the sidewalk to be completed by the previously agreed-upon date (December 31, 2026), and allowing the curb and gutter requirement to be extended further (another 10 years) through an additional amendment to the agreement.
FISCAL IMPACT:
Not Applicable.
FUNDING AVAILABLE:
Not Applicable.