Growth is coming to Yuba County. When it comes, the Board of Supervisors wants development to be organized and focused.

“Growth is going to be in the south county because it’s closer to jobs,” Supervisor Mary Jane Griego said Thursday. “I think we need to finish and perfect what we have there. We need schools, retail and medical resources there. We need to plan and focus on an area before moving on to the next.”

This consensus came out of the first of four study sessions relating to the county’s general plan update.

“We are not going to stop any of the growth. What this plan does is manage it, we need to smart manage,” Griego said.

The county is working on updating its general plan for the next 20 years.

County officials expect the population to nearly double, based on Sacramento Area Council of Governments and state Department of Finance projections. Yuba County’s current population is roughly 70,745.

Supervisor Hal Stocker noted that with growth, regardless of where it is, there is still the obligation of providing public safety.

“We do have to protect the people that are already behind the levees,” he said. “My feeling is that growth in the flood areas depends on how we do with the levee repairs.”

County Project Planner Dan Cucchi said flood protection was a topic largely discussed by citizens during town hall meetings on the update.

“They wanted to avoid flood-threatened areas and said 200-year protection of the levees was very important,” Cucchi said.

Supervisor Don Schrader, however, said Yuba County could build out of the floodplain.

“Unlike our neighbors across the river, we have a choice to not build in a floodplain,” he said. “I think we should look carefully at where we want future development to be even with the levees fixed.”

Supervisor John Nicoletti said traffic is also a growth-related issue.

“Roads and traffic will continue to be impacted, and we need to deal with those,” he said. “We don’t have $150 million (for a bypass), but will we continue to cripple our infrastructure with oversized trucks or will we deal with the issue?”

Supervisors also addressed growth in industry in addition to population.

“I think it’s worth looking into setting aside land for an industrial site,” Supervisor Dan Logue said. “The key to this county’s future is bringing jobs to the county.”

WHAT'S NEXT

Yuba County supervisors will hold a second study session to discuss sewage, water and other infrastructure at 2 p.m. Jan. 10 in the board chambers, County Government Center, 915 Eighth St., Marysville.

Appeal-Democrat reporter Andrea Koskey can be reached at 749-4709 or at akoskey@appealdemocrat.com