YUBA CITY, CA (MPG) – The City of Yuba City is launching a community survey to gather input on the environmental assessment and redevelopment of 442 B St. in downtown Yuba City, which is currently vacant and considered a brownfield. A brownfield is a property where redevelopment efforts are complicated by the presence of environmental contamination but it holds tremendous potential for the area’s future.  

As the city works to bring this land back to productive use, we want to hear directly from the community about how they envision the space and its role in shaping the future of downtown. The city encourages all who live, work or visit Yuba City to share their opinions on the environmental assessment and redevelopment by completing the survey available in English, Spanish and Punjabi at the respective links. English: surveymonkey.com/r/442BSt, Spanish: surveymonkey.com/r/442BSt-SPN and Punjabi: surveymonkey.com/r/442BSt-PNJ.

In tandem with this survey and visioning process, the city’s environmental consultants are performing an environmental assessment under the oversight of the Central Valley Regional Water Quality Control Board. This assessment will include sampling soil, groundwater and soil vapor (air between soil particles). This work will help the city better understand conditions below ground from past uses of the site, including chemical storage, fruit packing and vehicle maintenance at the property. More information about the environmental assessment is available at tinyurl.com/442BStreet. 

To fund this work, the city has obtained a $2-million Equitable Community Revitalization grant from California’s Department of Toxic Substances Control Office of Brownfields. Through the Equitable Community Revitalization Grant program, the Department of Toxic Substances Control aims to advance environmental justice, uplift communities, foster equitable development and ensure a healthier, safer future for communities across California. The grant is funding work with regulatory agencies to collect information to understand and appropriately address the environmental contamination, while keeping the community informed of the progress. 

“The City of Yuba City is excited to learn more about what the community wants their downtown to look like and to conduct an environmental assessment of 442 B St., a critical first step in ensuring its safe cleanup and revitalization,” said Kevin Bradford, Yuba City’s Deputy Public Works director. “This process made possible through the grant received from Department of Toxic Substances Control will help transform these underutilized spaces into valuable community assets. By taking proactive measures to assess, clean up and redevelop property, we are making our city more attractive to developers, fostering economic growth and creating opportunities for new public spaces that benefit everyone.”