Beale AFB

Yuba County is a population ~85,000 county in the northeastern Sacramento Valley, occupying the corridor between Sutter County (west, across the Feather River), Butte County (north, across the Honcut Creek / Bear River divide), Nevada County (east, across the Yuba River canyons / Sierra foothills), Placer County (southeast, across the Bear River), and Sacramento County (south, briefly). The county has a hybridized character: a small Yuba City / Marysville urban area on the western flank (Marysville being the county seat at the confluence of the Feather and Yuba Rivers, with the Yuba City / Marysville urban metro split across the Sutter / Yuba county line), a substantial Beale Air Force Base footprint in the central county (~23,000 acres, the largest single landowner and one of the largest single employers), and a sparsely-populated Sierra foothills / mountain belt extending eastward to the Tahoe National Forest periphery. Two incorporated cities: Marysville (~12,000, the county seat, on the Feather River across from Yuba City; Marysville is one of the most levee-dependent cities in California, virtually surrounded by levees on all sides), and Wheatland (~3,500, southern Yuba on the Bear River, the historic Wheatland Hop Riot site). Substantial unincorporated population in Linda (~17,000, the largest unincorporated community, immediately southeast of Marysville on the south side of the Yuba River), Olivehurst (~14,000, south of Linda, contiguous with the Marysville-Yuba City urban area), Plumas Lake (~9,000, a planned community in southern Yuba that has experienced rapid 2000s-2010s growth then a 2008-2012 housing-bust slowdown), Loma Rica (~2,200, in the Sierra foothills east of Marysville), Brownsville (~1,000, in the Sierra foothills east of Loma Rica), Camptonville (in the Yuba River canyon corridor adjacent to Sierra County), Dobbins, Challenge, and Strawberry Valley (Sierra-foothill mountain communities in the eastern county). The Board of Supervisors administers ADUs in unincorporated areas under Cal. Gov. Code Sec. 65852.2 / 65852.22 via the County Community Development and Services Agency. The county is a member of the Sacramento Area Council of Governments (SACOG) and is subject to RHNA 6th-cycle (2021-2029) housing allocations. Levee-dependent floodplain occupies the bulk of the western county (Yuba City / Marysville urban area, Linda / Olivehurst, Plumas Lake) and is a defining permit constraint, particularly post-1986 / 1997 / 2017 flood events.

• Yuba County Code Title 12 (Zoning), ADU/JADU provisions
• Cal. Gov't Code Sec. 65852.2 (Accessory Dwelling Units)
• Cal. Gov't Code Sec. 65852.22 (Junior Accessory Dwelling Units)
• Sacramento-San Joaquin Valley 200-Year Flood Protection (SB 5 / SB 1278)
• Three Rivers Levee Improvement Authority (TRLIA)
• Marysville Levee Protection Project / Yuba River Setback Levee

State-floor overlay: California state ADU preemption applies in full to unincorporated Yuba County. AB 1033 condo-conversion election: not adopted as of April 2026. AB 976 prohibits owner-occupancy mandates on detached ADUs. AB 2533 unpermitted-ADU amnesty applies. SB 9 urban lot-split provisions apply only within incorporated cities (Marysville, Wheatland); they do not apply in unincorporated parcels. HCD oversight applies to ordinance amendments per Sec. 65852.2(h). The Sacramento-San Joaquin Valley 200-year flood-protection findings (SB 5 / SB 1278 implementation in Cal. Gov. Code Sec. 65302.9) apply to new urban-level development in the bulk of the county. Beale AFB AICUZ overlay applies to a corridor surrounding the runway and approach paths. AB 38 home-hardening provisions apply to post-fire rebuilds in the Sierra-foothill belt (2017 Cascade Fire footprint).

Yuba County overlays of consequence: (1) levee-dependent FEMA SFHA along the Feather River, Yuba River, Bear River, and Honcut Creek; (2) SB 5 / SB 1278 200-year flood-protection requirements; (3) the Three Rivers Levee Improvement Authority (TRLIA) governance; (4) Beale Air Force Base AICUZ overlay; (5) CAL FIRE SRA Very High FHSZ in the Sierra foothills; (6) the 2017 Cascade Fire footprint; (7) the Yuba River Wild and Scenic corridor (Middle Fork / South Fork); (8) Tahoe National Forest in the easternmost county; (9) Williamson Act ag-preserves; and (10) SACOG / RHNA 6th-cycle housing allocations.

• FEMA SFHA - Feather River, Yuba River, Bear River, Honcut Creek
• SB 5 / SB 1278 200-Year Flood Protection Requirements
• Three Rivers Levee Improvement Authority (TRLIA)
• Beale Air Force Base Air Installation Compatible Use Zone (AICUZ)
• CAL FIRE State Responsibility Area / Yuba Sierra-foothill Very High FHSZ - 2017 Cascade Fire
• Post-2017 Cascade Fire / 2020 North Complex peripheral recovery zone
• Yuba River Wild and Scenic corridor (Middle Fork / South Fork)
• Tahoe National Forest in eastern Yuba County
• Williamson Act / Land Conservation Act agricultural preserves
• Maidu / Konkow / Nisenan ancestral territory tribal consultation

Yuba County Community Development and Services Agency (Planning Department and Building Department) issues ADU permits for unincorporated parcels including Linda, Olivehurst, Plumas Lake, Loma Rica, Brownsville, Camptonville, Dobbins, Challenge, and Strawberry Valley. Practical permitting frictions: levee-dependent floodplain occupying the bulk of the western county (Linda / Olivehurst, Plumas Lake, the Feather River bottom and Yuba River bottom); FEMA SFHA along the Feather River, Yuba River, Bear River, and Honcut Creek; SB 5 / SB 1278 200-year flood-protection findings applicable to new urban-level development; the Three Rivers Levee Improvement Authority (TRLIA) governing levee improvements along the Feather / Yuba / Bear Rivers; Beale Air Force Base AICUZ overlay covering a corridor surrounding the runway and approach paths in the central county; CAL FIRE State Responsibility Area in the Sierra foothills (Very High FHSZ across Loma Rica, Brownsville, Dobbins, Challenge, Camptonville); the 2017 Cascade Fire footprint affecting parts of the Sierra-foothill belt; the Tahoe National Forest in the easternmost county; the Yuba River Wild and Scenic corridor (the Middle Fork and South Fork Yuba are designated state Wild and Scenic Rivers); Williamson Act parcels covering substantial agricultural Yuba; the Yuba County Water Agency (managing the Yuba River hydropower / water-supply system, including Englebright Dam and New Bullards Bar Reservoir); rural well-water / septic on essentially all unincorporated lots outside the urban core; and SACOG / RHNA 6th-cycle housing allocations.