Monthly Archives: November 2022

Benicia Green Gateway, North Study Area, Seeno property, Specific Plan

SHORT NOTICE! Benicia’s “North Study Area” project (Seeno property)

If you possibly can, be at the meeting tonight:
Community Open House @ Northgate Church
2201 Lake Herman Road
TONIGHT! November 16, 2022 at 7:00 p.m.

With apologies for this terribly short notice (many of us have been really busy with elections) – I call your attention to an important meeting TONIGHT.

Click to go to 2008 citizen study, archived at rogerstraw.com

The City is sponsoring a community Open House to inform the public and get input from us on planning for the future of the Seeno property.  Some of you Benicia Resisters recall the several struggles in recent years to stop the Seeno family from its disastrous development plans. I have heard that City officials are in communication with the Seenos, and that one or more senior Benicia officials believe that development is “inevitable.”

Please study up on this project –

  1. See the City’s current background docs at https://www.ci.benicia.ca.us/northstudyarea
  2. AND please review our creative and thorough 2008 citizen study, Green Gateway Business Community, archived at http://www.rogerstraw.com/ggg/ .

AND MOST IMPORTANTLY, if you possibly can, be at the meeting tonight:

Community Open House @ Northgate Church
2201 Lake Herman Road
TONIGHT! November 16, 2022 at 7:00 p.m.
MORE BACKGROUND: Here’s current information from the City of Benicia website, https://www.ci.benicia.ca.us/northstudyarea:

North Study Area

The North Study Area visioning project aims to solicit public input on potential future land use options for the North Study Area property. Community input, together with an economic analysis and evaluation of the property conditions, will be used to develop several mixed-use concepts for further public review. Once completed, the landowner may determine whether to move forward with initiating land use applications which must include a “Master Plan” (i.e., Specific Plan) as required by the Benicia General Plan and Zoning Ordinance.

The study area is a 527-acre undeveloped property in the northeast corner of the city. The property is within the City’s urban growth boundary and fronts on Lake Herman Road and East Second Street.  Although a number of site development proposals have been considered over the years, most recently in 2016, none have come to fruition. The property is currently zoned Limited Industrial (IL) and General Commercial (CG).

Visioning Process

The City wants to partner with the community to envision the future of this area, which is the last remaining large tract of privately-owned undeveloped land within Benicia.

There will be a variety of opportunities to learn more about this effort and to provide feedback over the coming year. The City will solicit public input through a series of community meetings, public events, and on-line engagement opportunities. To receive the latest updates, you can sign up for project email notifications here.  The City expects to complete the visioning process by late 2023.

The North Study Area Community-Led Visioning Process is divided into the following primary tasks:

  • Existing Conditions Review: Review of background materials and existing conditions information relevant to the visioning process.
  • Economic Analysis: Analysis of real estate market conditions, financial feasibility of land use alternatives, and net annual fiscal impacts of land use alternatives.
  • Issues and Options: Evaluation of key issues and options associated with development options.
  • Mixed-use Concepts: Consideration of alternative land use concepts for the property.
  • Summary Report: Summary of public input received and areas of consensus that emerged from the visioning process.

Advisory Group

The City has formed an advisory group for the North Study Area project to help distribute information about the project, provide feedback on project materials, and to bring together diverse community perspectives. The advisory group consists of one representative selected by each of the following City committee/commissions and community organizations.  Meetings are open to the public.

City Committees/Commissions:

  • City Council Subcommittee for the North Study Area (2 members)
  • Economic Development Board
  • Community Sustainability Commission
  • Committee United for Racial Equity
  • Planning Commission

Community Organizations:

  • Benicia Chamber of Commerce
  • Benicia Industrial Park Association
  • Matthew Turner Elementary Parent Teacher Group
  • Sustainable Solano
  • Benicia Unified School District
  • Housing First Solano

Project Documents

To be added as materials become available.

Advisory Group Meeting 1 (11/9/2022)

Agenda

Memorandum

Presentation

Existing Conditions Maps

Priorities

Background Documents

Adopted City Plans and Policies

Studies and Reports

Moving Solano Forward II – Final Report (2017)

Benicia City Council, Benicia elections, Kari Birdseye, Terry Scott

Today’s Benicia election results: Vote margins don’t change much

Mail-in ballots all but complete, counting of provisional ballots began today.

By Roger Straw, November 15, 2022

As expected, Tuesday’s count of additional mail-in ballots at our Solano County Registrar of Voters did not affect the likely final outcome of Benicia’s City Council race. Frontrunners Terry Scott and Kari Birdseye maintained a solid lead.

Today’s Preliminary Results
Click image to enlarge. Source: Solano County Registrar of Voters.
  • Scott has 5,613 votes, 24.74%
  • Birdseye has 5,391 votes, 23.76%
  • Largaespada has 5,243 votes, 23.11%
  • Strawbridge has 4,793 votes, 21.13%
  • Innes has 1,645 votes, 7.25%
By the numbers – note day-by-day vote margins at right…
Click image to enlarge. Source: BenIndy, numbers from Solano County Registrar of Voters.

Scott’s lead over Birdseye decreased today by one from 223 to 222. Birdseye’s lead over Largaespada increased from 142 to 148.

Votes outstanding…
Click image to enlarge. Source: Solano County Registrar of Voters.

Unless there are any surprises, ALL mail-in ballots have now been counted. Another 1,012 or so provisional ballots – countywide – must be counted. Benicia is typically about 10% of total Solano votes, so there are perhaps 100 more provisional ballots for Benicia. The Registrar of Voters expects to certify the final result by November 30.

Previous updates on the BenIndy:
Benicia City Council, Benicia elections, Kari Birdseye, Terry Scott

Benicia election results: Scott and Birdseye increase their lead

Scott and Birdseye distancing from incumbents, will be sworn in on December 6

By Roger Straw, November 14, 2022

As expected, Monday’s count of additional mail-in ballots at our Solano County Registrar of Voters increased the leads by frontrunners Terry Scott and Kari Birdseye.

Many have presumed the race is over.  But on Friday, incumbent Councilmember Lionel Largaespada conceded on his Facebook page, and both the Benicia Herald and this Benicia Independent called the race for Scott and Birdseye.  (I read somewhere that Christina Strawbridge conceded, but I am unable to confirm it.)

By the numbers – the lead increased each day…

Scott’s lead over Birdseye has remained pretty much equal, increasing only from 209 to 223.

Birdseye’s lead over Largaespada has increased from only 42 to 112, and tonight to 142.

Ballots still outstanding…

All but  approximately 250 mail-in ballots have been counted. Another 1,671 or so provisional ballots must be counted. The Registrar of Voters expects to certify the final result by November 30.

Previous updates:
Benicia City Council, Benicia elections, Valero PAC

Benicia voters appear to reject incumbents, Valero in City Council election

Councilmember Lionel Largaespada wrote on Facebook that he called retired executive Terry Scott and planning commissioner Kari Birdseye to congratulate them.

The Vallejo Sun, by Scott Morris, Nov 11, 2022

Retired executive Terry Scott, left, and planning commissioner Kari Birdseye, right, appear to have prevailed in the Benicia City Council race. Photos: Scott Morris.

BENICIA – Benicia voters appear to have ousted incumbent city councilmembers who drew substantial monetary support from oil manufacturer Valero, as two challengers who have been critical of the refinery appear poised to win after Tuesday’s election, according to unofficial results from the Solano County Registrar of voters.

Councilmember Lionel Largaespada wrote on Facebook Thursday night that he called retired executive Terry Scott and planning commissioner Kari Birdseye to congratulate them on their apparent victory in the city council race.

“While there are still ballots to be counted the data indicates their respective leads will hold,” Largaespada wrote. “It has been the greatest honor and privilege to serve the community I love, where I raise my family and I hope they will raise theirs.”

Birdseye, who works as an environmental spokesperson, thanked her opponents in a statement provided to the Sun.

“Although we don’t always agree on policies that are best for our community, Councilmember Largaespada served Benicia well, especially working with frontline community groups,” Birdseye said. “I thank both Lionel and Christina for their dedication to our community and look forward to their continued counsel as I step into this new role.”

Scott has been in first place since the first returns were released Tuesday night. Birdseye was initially in second place, but fell behind Largaespada as more Election Day votes were counted. But as the county continued counting late-arriving vote-by-mail ballots, Birdseye again took second place, and her lead grew to more than 100 votes late Thursday. Incumbent Councilmember Christina Strawbridge has remained in fourth place.

Benicia’s council members are elected by the entire city and the top two vote-getters will be on the council for the next four years.

The race was hotly contested, particularly because of the influence of Valero, the city’s largest employer that spent tens of thousands of dollars campaigning for the incumbents in the last days leading up to Election Day.

Valero previously campaigned for Largaespada and Strawbridge and against Birdseye in 2018. Birdseye narrowly lost that race. When Strawbridge ran for mayor two years later, Valero again supported her, but she lost badly to now-Mayor Steve Young.

This year, it appeared that Valero might sit out the race following a scandal when it was revealed that the refinery had allowed toxic gas to be released from a hydrogen vent for years. The Bay Area Air Quality Management District obtained an abatement order for Valero, but what penalties the refinery may face have yet to be determined.

Valero’s political meddling was a major issue at a candidates forum in October, where Scott and Birdseye called for greater oversight of the refinery in the wake of the emissions scandal.

Altered Valero PAC mailer (added here by the BenIndy, not in the original Vallejo Sun article)

But Valero did not take any action during the campaign until its final weeks, when a political action committee (PAC) receiving funding from Valero sent mailers on behalf of Largaespada and Strawbridge and spent $10,000 on Facebook ads. According to filings available by Tuesday’s election deadline, Valero had spent $89,507.71 supporting Largaespada and Strawbridge.

Largaespada and Strawbridge have both denounced Valero’s attempts to influence the city’s politics. By law, their campaigns cannot coordinate with the activities of Valero’s PAC.