YUBA CITY, CA (MPG) - Have you noticed the tiny flags popping up on your lawns and blue markings in the streets along the roads in your neighborhoods? It looks like preparations for a gnome golf tournament or landing strips for leprechauns… Well, it’s not quite as fanciful as that.

Kaitlin Colston, the Director of Marketing for Race Communications, a California company, which is constructing a fiber-based network in Yuba City, provided an explanation. “We get that question rather frequently. It can be surprising when the little flags pop up in yards. Those are USA Markings. They help mark underground utilities like electric to ensure when we dig we are not getting hurt or harming others. It’s a safety measure. You’ve probably seen the ‘call before you dig’ government campaigns: it’s the same thing. We estimate that our services will be available to over 28,000 homes and businesses in Yuba City. The project began in 2021, and we estimate completion in 2025. The first residential installs are projected to occur as early as January 2024.”

Temporary utility markings.

Definition of USA Markings: The first step in the construction process is for utility companies to mark the locations of their existing underground facilities. You may see paint markings on streets, sidewalks, driveways, and flags in the utility easements on your property, including grass and planter areas. These utility markings are temporary and help ensure that construction teams avoid any potential conflicts with existing infrastructure.

On the December 13, 2023, a project proposal was put forth to the Yuba City Planning Commission during their monthly meeting. Use permit and construction of a 60-foot-high monopole cell tower at 223 Clark Ave. was approved unanimously after the presentation showed the project passed the California Environmental Quality Act. Aaron Brown, an assistant planner, and Melissa Vios, a representative of Epic Wireless on behalf of Verizon, presented a detailed proposal with computer graphics showing how the tower would look after construction. Disguised as a pine tree, the tower would blend in with other foliage in the neighborhood. All safety questions were answered satisfactorily, and a vote was taken which passed 6-0.

New homes coming soon. Harter Estates next to Didar S. Bains Park. 

The multi-use recreational area, Didar S. Bains Park at 1400 Harter Pkwy., across from the Walmart Super Center, was officially opened on August 26, 2023. It has been enthusiastically used by the public since and still has a little way to go in its construction at the south end connecting with the Sutter Bike Trail.

Next to the park is a wide-open field that has been cleared and is ready for the construction of Harter Estates single-family homes. With our growing community, many more upgrades and improvements to Yuba City and the surrounding area will be ongoing throughout the new year.

 Gnome golf course?