Gandhi explained that the recommended cleanup approach includes excavation and off‑site disposal of soil in areas with the highest levels of contaminants. Desgined by Freepik

YUBA CITY, CA (MPG) - A long-vacant downtown lot contaminated with toxic soil is finally moving toward cleanup as Yuba City advances a federally funded plan to make the property safe for redevelopment.

City officials last week said they now have a realistic path to transform the property at 442 B Street into a usable downtown asset. Environmental testing is complete, a preferred remediation approach is in hand  and a major federal grant request is now in motion, setting up a pivotal period for a site that has long symbolized stalled redevelopment in the city’s core.

During an online workshop held Jan. 21, Deputy Public Works Director Kevin Bradford and environmental consultants outlined the findings of recent investigations and the cleanup strategy now under review by the Central Valley Regional Water Quality Control Board. The two‑acre lot has remained undeveloped since the early 1990s, when the last buildings were demolished and surrounding streets were reconfigured.

“This site has been vacant for a few decades,” Bradford said.

The parcel once served as a hub of agricultural and industrial activity for more than a century. Records show Sutter Canning and Packing Company operated there as early as 1890, followed by the California Fruit Canners Association through the 1920s. Sun‑Maid Raisin Growers Association ran a packaging plant on the property from the late 1920s to the 1940s. Associated Transport Company later owned the site, and FMC Corporation, an agricultural chemical company, leased it for roughly 50 years until the early 1990s.

Despite past use that resulted in soil contamination, Bradford described the parcel as a key location for future development. 

“It’s a prime location close to the Plumas Street downtown, close to all the medical facilities, and the new Holiday Inn Express,” he said. 

Environmental consultant EKI Environment and Water conducted extensive soil, groundwater and vapor testing in 2024 and 2025. Principal engineer Deepa Gandhi said soil at the site is impacted with lead and arsenic and, to a lesser extent, the pesticide dieldrin, primarily in shallow soils up to three feet deep.

Gandhi explained that the recommended cleanup approach includes excavation and off‑site disposal of soil in areas with the highest levels of contaminants and covering remaining areas of lower‑level contamination with a cap to prevent exposure. The cap could be incorporated into future development features such as pavement or building foundations. She added that groundwater and soil vapor would not require cleanup based on the investigation results. A land use covenant would restrict sensitive uses such as hospitals or daycares.

Bradford said the cleanup is expected to cost about $4 million and that the city has submitted an EPA Brownfields Cleanup Grant application to fund the remediation. Yuba City previously received roughly $2 million from the California Department of Toxic Substances Control for investigation work.

Bradford said the city’s goal is to prepare the site for private investment once cleanup is complete. As part of the grant requirements, the city gathered public input on potential future uses for the site, such as market‑rate housing, affordable housing, retail, restaurant, medical or recreation.

“Our goal here is to basically get the property to the condition where a developer would be interested,” Bradford said.

Bradford said the city expects to receive a decision from the EPA by June 2026. “If we receive the cleanup funding from the EPA, then we would initiate implementation plans and hopefully get to a point of being able to start the cleanup in 2027,” he said.

He added that the city hopes the site will be ready for a new developer to begin working on redevelopment plans in 2028.