This empty lot on Butte Road will soon be home to Harter Estates North, featuring 73 single-family residences. Photo courtesy of Yuba City

YUBA CITY, CA (MPG) - Bids for the Harter Parkway Corridor were rejected but the Harter Estates North subdivision on Butte Road is moving on.

The Yuba City Council passed two resolutions on June 4: adopt a subdivision agreement with developer D.R. Horton for public improvements at Harter Estates North and reject bids for the construction contract.

Resolution three under the consent agenda allows developer D.H. Horton to record the subdivision map, which is the final step in legally creating the 73 individual lots, according to Yuba City Public Works and Developmental Services director Ben Moody.

"It also allows the developer to begin the building permit process for constructing homes," Moody said.

 

This rendering is on the property that Harter Estates North will occupy in Yuba City. Photo courtesy of Yuba City

While D.H. Horton can begin the permit process, the company must tend to pending matters, according to Moody.

"The developer is required to extend water, sewer and storm drainage into the subdivision, as well as construct all roads, curbs, gutters, sidewalks and masonry walls," Moody said. "Street trees also have to be planted."

Moody said Harter Estates North represents an important infill development project near schools, commercial centers, a park, transit facilities and government centers.

"The project will create 73 single-family residences, increasing the availability of housing within the community," Moody said.

Mayor Shon Harris said, "As people move up, they create backfill housing opportunities for folks who may be 'one rung on the ladder' behind them and so forth."

The mayor said Yuba City is "very aware of the housing shortage locally and nationwide."

"We welcome any opportunity to consider projects that are a good fit for the community and provide housing for individuals and families at any level, senior, low-income, multi-family, single-family entry-level, tiny homes, townhouses or higher-end products," Harris said.

Moody explained why the resolution included traffic matters.

 This rendering is on the property that Harter Estates North will occupy in Yuba City. Photo courtesy of Yuba City

"This is the formal process by which the new roadway right-of-way and utility easements within the subdivision are transferred and accepted by the City Council for public use," Moody said. "Until this occurs, the property remains private."

According to Moody, Resolution Four, under the consent agenda, assures that Yuba City is getting the best possible price for building the new sewer on Harter Parkway and Butte House Road.

Based on a staff report, Yuba City partnered with the Sacramento Area Council of Governments (SACOG) to develop the Harter Parkway Corridor Improvement Project in support of the area council's Green Means Go initiative. The initiative is a multi-year pilot program to lower gas emissions.

According to the staff report, the project includes the construction of an 18-inch-diameter sanitary sewer trunk main and related roadway restoration improvements. It is intended to encourage the development of a future multi-family housing project at the southwest corner of Harter Parkway and Butte House Road.

However, four company bids for the project were rejected.

"Unfortunately, the two lowest bids did not meet the requirements," Moody said. "Therefore, the city elected to reject all bids and rebid the project with a modified scope, giving an opportunity for all bidders to rebid."

The wait does not bother Harris.

"We are excited to see positive planned growth in Yuba City," Harris said.