Lodi’s growth accelerates

Population growth puts city at No. 3 spot in San Joaquin County

The California Department of Finance recently reported that Lodi was the third fastest-growing city in San Joaquin County with a 1.8 percent population increase from 65,911 residents in January 2017 to 67,121 in January 2018, placing behind Escalon and Lathrop.

This population increase is part of a larger trend in Lodi, according to Craig Hoffman, senior planner for the City of Lodi.

Lodi’s population grew to its current level with an average increase of 1 percent each year from 62,134 as of the 2010 Census, Hoffman said, and has also seen a steady rate of commercial and industrial growth.

“With Lodi, much like other cities across the U.S. and certainly in California, the economic downturn from 2008 to 2013 really slowed the economy down. Now, we’re seeing a pent-up demand for goods and services, and that’s what we’re seeing in Lodi,” Hoffman said.

More residents mean more money for Lodi, Hoffman said, with the city getting money from project fees each time new commercial, industrial or residential buildings are constructed. Lodi uses those fees, he said, along with property taxes to pay for city services.

Despite Lodi becoming busier each year, Hoffman said that the Community Development Department has managed to keep up with the city’s growth.

“A lot of what we’re seeing right now was master planned as part of the 2010 general plan, so what we’re seeing is development that was envisioned 10, 15 years ago. For me, it’s exciting to see it finally developing,” Hoffman said.

Not everybody shares Hoffman’s optimism, though.

Lodi Fire Chief Gene Stoddart said his department has already seen the drawbacks of Lodi’s population growth, with its 2017 call volume increasing by 18 percent, or approximately 1,000 calls, from the previous year.

More people will mean more calls for service, Stoddart said, even though the fire department still faces a personnel shortage that left Fire Engine 1 unstaffed, or “browned out,” for approximately 75 percent of 2017.

“I’d say there are a couple of times a week where we have zero engines available, because all of our engines and trucks are out on calls. When we’re browned out, we only have four stations with one apparatus each. We don’t have the resources to handle any additional calls,” Stoddart said.

As more houses are built, more hydrants will be installed, Stoddart said, which the fire department must regularly test to ensure that they work in the event of a fire. The fire department is also mandated by the State of California to inspect apartments designed to house three or more individuals or families, he said, putting further strain on their resources.

“More people also means more cars on the road, which can lead to an increase in traffic collisions. It can also impede our way of getting around town in an emergency. When the roads are congested, there’s no way for cars to move over to the right,” Stoddart said.

Despite the increased strain on the fire department’s resources, Stoddart did acknowledge one benefit of Lodi’s population growth: The construction of the Harney Lane overpass.

“We’ve been able to adjust our districts to where District 3 now responds to the south end of the city, east of the train tracks. Because of this, we’ve been able to decrease our response time in that area, although it’s a small area,” Stoddart said.

Lodi Police Lt. Sierra Brucia said that although the department’s resources have also been stretched thin over the past few years, that has more to do with a reduction in staffing than a population increase.

Despite the lack of personnel, Brucia said, the department has been exploring new ways to serve the community, such as online reporting, hiring part-time employees and utilizing more technology and equipment.

“The police department is always committed to the safety of the community, and we’re always looking for new ways to respond to calls for service with the resources we have. Sometimes we can use technology and equipment in places where traditionally we’ve had employees doing the work,” Brucia said.