Yuba City Council approved the sale of C Street and Wilbur Avenue to Sutter Medical Foundation to expand the healthcare facility here. Photo courtesy of Sutter Medical Foundation

YUBA CITY, CA (MPG) - Sutter Medical Foundation has expanded its presence in town, officially purchasing the C Street and Wilbur Avenue property. 

According to Mayor Shon Harris, who approved the $335,000 sale of the vacant property with the Yuba City Council at the May 5 meeting, the private and public partnership is good for the community. 

“The property was offered for sale to the public, and Sutter Medical Foundation submitted an offer,” Harris said. 

Gary Zufelt, CEO of Ambulatory Services at Sutter Health’s Greater Sacramento, said the parcel, adjacent to the Sutter Surgical Hospital North Valley, a 46,000-square-foot, 14-bed inpatient and outpatient surgery center, is an ideal investment.

“It is a wonderful location as we continue to expand Sutter Health’s services and increase access in the Yuba-Sutter region,” Zufelt said, adding the present facility provides access to innovative surgical techniques.

Mayor Shon Harris said, “While details are not finalized or publicly available yet, Sutter’s plans to expand services here in Yuba City are welcome and encouraged.” 

City Manager Diana Langley provided the parcel’s history. It is one of several vacant surplus properties owned by the City or Successor Agency. Before that, it was initially purchased by the Redevelopment Agency of the City of Yuba City; however, in 2012, based on a California Supreme Court decision, all redevelopment agencies were dissolved. 

“This property was then transferred to the Successor Agency to the Redevelopment Agency and was included in a Long-Range Property Management Plan, in which the Plan recommended that the site be sold for private development,” Langley said.

In 2019, Governor Gavin Newsom passed AB 1486, significantly expanding Surplus Land Act (SLA) procedural requirements. 

The city manager explained that under the SLA, before selling the property, the Successor Agency had to declare it surplus, first offering the sale or lease to a “housing sponsor” for affordable housing development. If not purchased, it could be negotiated with other prospective developers. 

“For this property, the Successor Agency went through the SLA process, and no housing sponsors submitted interest,” Langley said. “The Successor Agency was then able to sell the property.”

Mayor Harris said Sutter Medical Foundation is a respected regional medical provider Yuba gladly welcomes. The North Valley facility currently provides orthopedic surgeries and minimally invasive robotic procedures, including spine, gynecological, and general surgery.

Outpatient services include pre-surgical assessments, lab, X-ray, EKG testing, pain management, and patient education classes for joint replacement.

“Healthy residents can take advantage of the many quality life amenities our community offers,” Harris said. “Providing people streamlined access to quality healthcare is a key ingredient to helping our residents thrive.” Zufelt thanks the City of Yuba for approving the sale of this parcel.

“As we plan for the future, this will allow us to expand access to care near existing Sutter services, including Sutter Valley Medical Foundation’s medical office campus located on Plumas Boulevard,” Zufelt said.