All posts by BenIndy

California Forever Inc., Flannery Associates, Solano County CA, Vacaville CA

Vacaville Vice Mayor positioned himself for personal gain in promoting California Forever

Vice Mayor holds California Forever DBAs

Business linked to California Forever Home Loans

Vacaville Vice Mayor Greg Ritchie speaks to reporters after announcing his support for California Forever’s ballot initiative.

Vallejo Times-Herald, by Nick McConnell, May 2, 2024

Months before becoming the first public official to endorse California Forever, Vacaville Vice Mayor Greg Ritchie filed two “Doing Business As” names for his home loan company, Citizens Financial.

The real estate license for Ritchie, who endorsed the project on Tuesday, indicates that he filed “California Forever Home Loans” and “California Forever Homes” as DBAs for his business in January of this year. A website URL registered as www.californiaforeverhomeloans.com exists, but now redirects to a message from Ritchie.

Documentation of the DBAs, as well as criticism of Ritchie’s decision to file them, surfaced on social media Tuesday evening, intensifying pre-existing backlash toward the vice mayor’s decision to announce support for the development company.

Ritchie said he filed the DBAs in January because he believes in the project’s goals and thinks it will have a positive impact on Solano County. While he said he “wholeheartedly understood” some of the concerns and frustration about the issue, he said his business will be interested in helping people access the downpayment assistance that California Forever has promised to provide.

“I want to make one thing crystal clear — neither my company nor myself have any economic relationship or interest in California Forever,” Ritchie wrote on the site. “I have also not received any donations or political contributions for my endorsement. My endorsement was given purely based on my professional and personal belief that this is a good project that will help thousands of Solano families reach the dream of homeownership.”

A major concern for Ritchie is the lack of affordable housing options available to Travis Air Force Base service members in the immediate area around the base, and he believes California Forever’s new community could go a long way to solving that issue for Solano County.

This is not the first time that Ritchie has faced backlash over a DBA. He faced criticism over his “The Badge’s Broker” DBA during the Black Lives Matter protests in 2020. He said at that time, he refused to remove the DBA because he did not want to play into tribalism.

“I chose to take the road less traveled and go down that road and stay strong,” he said.

Ritchie said he is particularly excited about the downpayment assistance that the plan could provide. Citizens Financial connects people to funding for downpayment regularly, Ritchie said, and he looks forward to helping more people if the initiative is passed. He described the lack of access to capital for a downpayment as the “Achilles Heel” of housing in California and described himself as a subject matter expert in providing that funding.

“I have proved myself for over a decade that whoever works for my company, they actually care,” he said.

Ritchie noted that refusing to provide home loans based on where someone would be living is illegal under federal law.

“Like many Solano County small business owners, Greg Ritchie sees the potential of the East Solano Plan to help the thousands of working families who are struggling to purchase their own homes,” California Forever Campaign Manager Matt Rodriguez said. “His endorsement is solely based on the merits of the East Solano Plan and we greatly appreciate his support.”

Rodriguez said he was disappointed by the “bullying” of fellow Solano County residents and business owners he has seen toward those who support the initiative. As the campaign moves forward, he said he hopes for “collaborative and respectful dialogue.”

“We look forward to more folks learning about the Homes For All guarantee of $400 million in downpayment assistance and how it can meaningfully improve the wellbeing of this great community,” he said.

Arts Benicia, Benicia CA, Stephen Golub

Stephen Golub: Great Stuff at Arts Benicia

By Stephen Golub, originally published in the Benicia Herald on April 21, 2024. The images in this post were added by BenIndy. 

Benicia resident and author Stephen Golub, A Promised Land.

One of the many things that makes Benicia so special is its community of artists, many of whom settled here due to our town’s relative affordability and beautiful setting. One leading aspect of that community is Arts Benicia, a nonprofit whose excellent website (https://artsbenicia.org/)  sums up its mission nicely: “…to stimulate, educate, and nurture cultural life in Benicia primarily through the visual arts. This community based non-profit organization provides exhibitions, educational programs, and classes that support artists and engage the broader community.”

Before going further, I’ll say that I’ve never been particularly art-oriented. (I’ll also say that I’m not proud to say that.) With the exception of especially outlandish or idiosyncratic displays such as Van Gogh or holographic exhibitions, I always dismissed art museums as just featuring “stuff on walls.” I’d generally prefer to go for a hike, go for a drink, watch the Warriors, whatever.

But Arts Benicia has changed my mind. Lots of that stuff on its walls is striking and thought-provoking. Even more importantly, it’s about far more than what’s on walls. The organization offers classes, opportunities and activities to Benicia’s kids, adults and visitors. Conservation, nature, gender, justice and other themes run through much of what it shows and does.

Clicking this image will redirect you to the Arts Benicia website.

Arts Benicia is not just an organization. We can also think of it as a community that embraces not just artists from Benicia and beyond, but many of us to the extent that we engage in its activities or benefit from the visitors it helps bring to our lovely town.

Still, the heart and physical hub of the group is the stately, historic, 6,000-foot Commanding Officer’s Quarters, located at 1 Commandant’s Lane, which hosts the organization’s gallery, classes and project space. There’s usually a free exhibition on display there, from 1-5 pm on Thursdays through Sundays.

My recent favorite exhibitions have been those featuring diverse depictions of water-oriented themes and the works of our amazingly talented Benicia artists. There will be more such shows along those specific  lines, along with numerous other kinds of exhibitions, in the months and years to come. Each show is a highly competitive affair, with artists from all over the Bay Area and the country submitting applications for inclusion.

The Commanding Officer’s Quarters is the home of Arts Benicia, but the fun doesn’t stop there. | ArtsBenicia.org

The Commanding Officer’s Quarters displays are just the tip of the contributions that Arts Benicia and Benicia’s artists make to the community. For example, from 10 am-5 pm on the weekend of May 4 and 5, it will join Benicia’s downtown galleries and about 50 Bay Area artists opening their studio doors for the Benicia Art Weekend. In addition to the art itself, the event offers a chance to discuss the artists’ work with them.

Arts Benicia regularly holds hands-on educational programs (some for fees, some free) for children, teenagers, young adults and adults of all ages For instance, this June it’s offering two five-day EcoArt Camps for kids entering third through sixth grades “who like to build, sculpt, paint, draw, and collage” to help them gain “awareness of environmental sustainability, natural resources, and the potential of re-use.”

There is no shortage of other educational and training opportunities. The organization partners with the Benicia Unified School District to bring visiting artists to the District’s four elementary schools for classes ranging from drawing to tinkering. It recently completed an “Intro to Cartooning” course for kids. There’s a Young Printmakers Program for persons 18-25 with an interest in skills that can pertain to such fields as graphic design. And there are a plethora of other classes and activities.

EcoArt Camp 2024 is open for applications, click the image to be redirected to the Arts Benicia page to learn more. | Image from ArtsBenicia.org.

Check out its website for more on any of this and on so much more.

A key way to take advantage of all that Arts Benicia has to offer is to become a member, with reduced rates for students and families. Membership brings discounts on various classes and other activities, as well as free admission to certain events: for example, the organization’s lecture series and receptions marking the openings of exhibitions. (I attended a great lecture last year, by two very knowledgeable Benicia-based experts, on the growing interaction between artificial intelligence and art.)

Its other forms of fund-raising also provide chances for loads of fun. In October, for instance, there will be a champagne-and-chocolate event; in December, one featuring a few kinds of fine, easily sip-able spirits. Held at the Commanding Officer’s Quarters, both proved very popular and sold out well in advance last year.

So check out Arts Benicia if you can. It offers lots of great stuff, both on walls and otherwise.

[Full disclosure: My wife sits on Arts Benicia’s Board. She did not suggest or lobby for this column at all.]

Air pollution, Asthma, Benicia City Council, Benicia Industrial Park, BISHO, Cancer, EngageBenicia.com, Stephen Golub, Valero Benicia Refinery, Valero Energy Corporation

Refineries, Cancer and Other Health Problems: An ISO Can Help Us Breathe Easier

By Stephen Golub, originally published in the Benicia Herald on April 14, 2024

Benicia resident and author Stephen Golub, A Promised Land.

In the weeks and months to come, you may hear and read an increasing amount about Benicia adopting an Industrial Safety Ordinance (ISO) that will help protect us against healthy and safety threats posed by the Valero Refinery, its associated asphalt plant and possibly other large industrial facilities.

There are many reasons for Benicia to have such an ordinance, so that we’re no longer the only Bay Area locale that hosts a refinery but is not protected by an ISO. Today, at the risk of getting a bit wonky, I’ll address one key reason: Living close to refineries can increase our risk of contracting cancer and other experiencing other medical problems; an ISO could help reduce such risks.

The point of this column isn’t to prompt panic, but to instead suggest action that will help safeguard our health. Through the better air monitoring, audits, inspections, reporting and above all preventive measures that the ordinance can bring, the City will be better able to reduce safety and health risks to our kids, seniors, small businesses and all Benicians.

The City Council has already taken the crucial first step in this direction. By a unanimous vote in December, the Council acted on a proposal by Vice Mayor Terry Scott and Councilwoman Kari Birdseye: It established a subcommittee comprising those two, aided by Fire Chief Josh Chadwick, to prepare an ISO.

While the ISO is being drafted, hopefully for adoption this summer, there are at least two things we can do to participate in the process:

First, please consider following and supporting the efforts of the Benicia Industrial Safety and Health Ordinance (BISHO) initiative (of which I’m a member), which can be found  at https://www.bisho.org/. (“Safety” and not just “health” is included in the name because one priority is to protect Benicians and Refinery workers against fires and explosions, and not just toxic emissions.)

BISHO’s evolving site provides reams of relevant information. It also includes how to join the almost 200 fellow citizens who are supporting an ISO (and who, given that some folks may back a measure even if they don’t sign on to it, may well represent many thousands of Benicians).

Second, check out and post your thoughts at the “Engage Benicia” site the City has established to exchange information and opinions about the planned ISO: https://engagebenicia.com/en/. It provides “Opportunities for Input,” where you can weigh in on a number of weighty questions regarding our safety, health and an ISO.

Clicking this image will take you to EngageBenicia.com

The site isn’t ideal. (Then again, what is?) For instance, it solicits our thoughts on a current “Community Advisory Panel” (CAP) without noting that to a great extent it is controlled and serves at the discretion of Valero. Still, the site represents a laudable effort to seek community input as Birdseye, Scott, Chadwick and other City personnel work hard to take Benicians’ perspectives into account. It’s well worth visiting, to register reactions and questions.

Now, on to the less pleasant news: A variety of research findings from across the country and the world indicate that cancer rates and other health problems are higher near refineries and related facilities than elsewhere. (There’s also relevant health data from Benicia, but I’ll save that for another day.) Again, my point is that an ISO can reduce our risks, not least by regulating Valero’s operations and reporting in ways that perhaps are not being done adequately elsewhere, such as in oil industry-friendly Texas (where, by the way, Valero is headquartered).

So please take this list as grounds for hope and urgency, not despair, about what Benicia can do. (The place listed is where the refinery is located; the date is when the research was published.)

Cancer rates, Texas, 2020: “[A University of Texas] team studied the Texas Cancer Registry and US Census Data from 2001 – 2014 to compare rates of cancer (bladder, breast, colon, lung, lymphoma, and prostate) of people within 30 miles of active Texas oil refineries. The team observed that proximity to an oil refinery was associated with a significantly increased risk of cancer diagnosis across all cancer types. People living within 10 miles of an active refinery were more likely to have advanced disease or metastatic disease.” https://www.utmb.edu/news/article/utmb-news/2021/07/06/new-study-links-increased-risk-of-cancer-to-proximity-to-oil-refineries.

Children’s liver and bone-related disorders, Texas, 2016: “This study examined the health effects of benzene exposure among children from a flaring incident at the British Petroleum (BP) refinery in Texas City, Texas…These findings suggest that children exposed to benzene are at a higher risk of developing both hepatic [liver-related] and bone marrow-related disorders. https://pubmed.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/26269465/

Post-incident health problems, Richmond, California, 2019: “After the 2012 incident [release chemicals into the air], two Emergency Departments took the brunt of the surge [of patients]. Censuses [i.e., the number of patients under care] increased from less than 600 a week each to respectively 5719 and 3072 the first week…It took 4 weeks for censuses to return to normal. The most common diagnosis groups that spiked were nervous/sensory, respiratory, circulatory, and injury.”

Leukaemia, various locations, 2020: “The systematic review identified 16 unique studies, which collectively record the incidence of haematological [blood-related] malignancies across 187,585 residents living close to a petrochemical operation. Residents from fenceline communities, less than 5 km from a petrochemical facility (refinery or manufacturer of commercial chemicals), had a 30% higher risk of developing Leukaemia than residents from communities with no petrochemical activity.” https://pubmed.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/32430062/

Children’s asthma, South Africa, 2009: “The results support the hypothesis of an increased prevalence of asthma symptoms among children in the area as a result of refinery emissions and provide a substantive basis for community concern.” https://pubmed.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/19781087/

Female lung cancer, Taiwan, 2000: “The study results show that mortality from female lung cancer rose gradually about 30 to 37 years after the operation of a petroleum refinery plant began.” https://pubmed.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/10845779/

There’s more, but I’ll leave it at that.

An ISO won’t be a cure-all by any means. But it will enable us to build on the work of state and federal agencies that, however well-intentioned, may not prioritize Benicia in view of the many areas they serve. It could well help to diminish our cancer risks and exposure to other health challenges.

And that should make us all breathe easier.

 

North Study Area, Seeno, Seeno property

Benicia’s Housing Element has been approved, throwing Seeno’s ‘builders remedy’ threat into question

By BenIndy Contributors, April 12, 2024

The City of Benicia affirmed that it has received notification of its “substantial compliance” with State Housing Element Law as of April 4, 2024, undermining Seeno’s threat to deploy the dreaded “builders remedy” on the town of 28,300.

The proposed Rose Estates project, shared by the City of Benicia in the Facebook post pictured below and on an official City webpage, would transform 527 acres of the former Benicia Business Park into a new community with 1,080 new homes and 250,000 square feet of new commercial space.

First submitted to the City in September 2023, the Rose Estates proposal from Seeno-owned West Coast Home Builders, LLC (hereafter referred to simply as”Seeno”) took an aggressive turn on March 12 when Seeno submitted an updated application under the provisions of the builder’s remedy.

The builder’s remedy is a legal mechanism that allows developers to bypass local planning regulations for housing projects if a city fails to meet its Regional Housing Needs Allocation (RHNA) targets or pass a state-certified “housing element” that abides by the California Department of Housing and Community Development (HCD)’s allocation requirements.

In its March 12, 2024 application, Seeno claimed that “Per HCD website [sic], the City did not meet its housing allocation […]. Consequently, the City is subject to the most stringent provisions of various housing laws […] [that] greatly limits local control over housing.”

But the April 4 certification letter from the HCD implies that the City of Benicia is now fully compliant with housing laws and has regained full control over its zoning and planning decisions, diminishing any leverage to override local zoning laws that Seeno might have had under the builder’s remedy.

And it’s clear the City wants to be calling the shots moving forward.

Seeno applications still incomplete

Letters issued from Benicia’s Community and Development Department in response to the September 15 and March 12 applications indicated that Seeno failed to complete either application, preventing Benicia from lawfully deeming them submitted.

In particular, the City claimed it was unable to verify who currently owns the Seeno empire and the land in Benicia to be developed due to active litigation stemming from a family dispute over the Seeno construction and development empire.

Click the image to be redirected to the letter on the City’s website.

In his most recent correspondence to Seeno, Benicia Community Development Department Planning Manager Jason Hade affirmed that Seeno’s March application is still deemed incomplete, but provided greater detail regarding additional requirements required to consider it legally complete:

  • Payment of outstanding fees totaling $27,873.40;
  • Amendments to align with Benicia’s General Plan and Zoning requirements;
  • A detailed written statement and supporting maps for the proposed amendments;
  • Clarification of the usage of government funds, which may trigger additional ADA and CBC requirements;
  • Descriptions of previous land use, expected traffic types, delivery schedules, environmental nuisances (e.g., odors, noise), temporary structures, hazardous materials, and all relevant permit requirements;
  • Current and proposed zoning and land use designations;
  • A Master Plan detailing large property developments;
  • Necessary identification and project details like the title block, site address, and legal compliance;
  • Comprehensive plans showing existing conditions, proposed changes, and structural details, including trees, natural features, and utilities;
  • A “more detailed” subdivision map, including legal descriptions, natural features, and existing structures;
  • A detailed topographic survey and grading plans to meet city specifications;
  • Specific plans for grading, including volume estimates and impact analyses;
  • Detailed feasibility studies for water and sewer services, including capacity and compliance with city standards;
  • Utility plans with necessary details for connection points and compliance;
  • A comprehensive environmental impact report (EIR) as required by the California Environmental Quality Act (CEQA);
  • A detailed traffic, photometric, and landscaping plan that addresses both aesthetic and functional requirements of the project;
  • Detailed architectural plans including elevations, floor plans, and roof plans;
  • Specific details on landscaping, lighting, parking, and circulation; and
  • A plan for public and safety-related improvements.

Until these items are provided, the City may not process the application as complete.

MORE ABOUT SEENO

BENICIA BACKGROUND:
CITIZEN BACKGROUND:
CONCORD/CONTRA COSTA BACKGROUND:
CITY OF BENICIA
City of Benicia North Study Area (Seeno property)

For current information from the City of Benicia, check out their North Study Area web page, https://www.ci.benicia.ca.us/northstudyarea: