Logo courtesy of Yuba City

YUBA CITY, CA (MPG) - The Yuba City Council on Feb. 18 unanimously approved a new three-year strategic plan, launching an ambitious roadmap city leaders said will drive investment, strengthen services and align long-term priorities across every department through 2029.

City Manager Robert Bendorf presented the plan, which centers on five focus areas: Workforce Excellence, Infrastructure, Safe Communities, Economic Development and Fiscal Responsibility. The document is the result of months of collaboration between the council and the city’s executive team, beginning with a strategic planning workshop in October 2025. It replaces a series of past standalone plans with a unified framework designed to guide decisions, budgets and project sequencing.

The plan outlines dozens of action items with defined timelines. A number of initial initiatives pertain to infrastructure, including publication of a spring report addressing financing strategies for road repairs, submission of applications for no fewer than three significant road rehabilitation grants by winter 2026 and formulation of a comprehensive citywide sidewalk management plan. Staff will also complete a full inventory of city-owned properties this fall to determine long-term needs and identify parcels that could be declared surplus.

In public safety, the plan calls for replacing the city’s outdated computer-aided dispatch system by 2028, developing funding options to rebuild Fire Station 1 and implementing priority dispatch for police and fire this year. A citywide standards-of-coverage study is scheduled for fall 2026, including updated response-time data and review of mutual-aid agreements.

Economic development efforts include updating the city’s zoning code by 2027, evaluating potential sites for a sports complex this summer and preparing a draft report on 55-and-over housing options by winter 2026. Staff will also begin producing monthly economic development metrics for the council starting this spring.

On the financial side, the plan directs staff to consolidate the city’s fee ordinance, begin comprehensive reviews of impact and assessment fees this spring and implement a new enterprise resource planning system by the end of 2026 to modernize financial and human-resources functions.

Bendorf said staff will report progress to the council every four months, with annual reviews to adjust priorities as conditions change. He said the plan is intentionally flexible and noted that several dates in the printed version already require adjustment as staff refine workload and sequencing.

“It’s all about prioritizing,” he told the council, adding that the updates will be incorporated as implementation moves forward.

Council members said the plan marks a significant shift in how the city approaches long-term direction.

Councilmember Dave Shaw, who has served more than seven years, said the city has historically seen its direction shift each year during council reorganization, when the mayor and vice mayor rotate and priorities often reset.

“We should be looking beyond the 12 months and all rowing in the same direction,” Shaw said, calling the new plan a foundation the city can build on for the next decade.

Mayor Marc Boomgaarden said the plan’s structure and measurable objectives distinguish it from earlier efforts that often ended up unused. He said the three-year horizon is realistic given the pace of change in state and federal policy and praised the plan’s focus on achievable, high-impact projects. Boomgaarden also noted that the plan is already evolving as staff refine timelines and respond to emerging needs.

No public comments were offered on the item.

With the unanimous vote, the council formally adopted Vision 2026-2029, setting Yuba City’s course for the next three years. Implementation begins immediately, with the first progress report expected later this year, Bendorf said.