Benicia CA, Benicia City Council, Benicia City Council Member Kari Birdseye, Benicia Fire Chief Josh Chadwick, Benicia Vice-Mayor Terry Scott, Industrial Safety Ordinance (ISO)

WATCH NOW! Benicia City Council Receives Presentation from Industrial Safety Ordinance Subcommittee

Got some time? Watch the Benicia City Council receive a report from their ISO Subcommittee LIVE NOW by clicking this link or clicking the image below.

Click the image to be redirected to the meeting viewer.

 

Check out the meeting packet for more information about how to participate.

Here’s a copy of the PowerPoint the subcommittee prepared if you missed the live presentation.

California Forever Inc., Flannery Associates, Solano County Board of Supervisors, Solano County CA, Solano County Orderly Growth Committee, Solano County Registrar of Voters, Solano Together, Travis Air Force Base

CA Forever Preempts County’s ‘Neutral’ Impact Report With Not-At-All Suspiciously Timed Release of Self-Commissioned Bonus Report

[Note from BenIndy: According to this recent post from CA Forever, Blue Sky Consulting has completed a six-month economic impact analysis of the East Solano Plan. Unsurprisingly, the company CA Forever hired to produce this very rosy report not only predicts massive economic windfalls for Solano, it also promises jobs for just about everyone should voters advance the project past the ballot. (And don’t forget CA Forever are also promising Solano a sports center, and a 5,000-person pool – throw in a pony and we might be persuaded to change our vote, too.) But it’s not the content of the report that is drawing early detractors out of the woodwork. It’s the timing.While the CA Forever post indicates that the report it commissioned has been in the works for 6 months, there are some indications that the billionaire-backed company may have hustled to present and release their extra-special, not-at-all-suspicious, awesome bonus report to Solano voters before a ‘neutral’ report recently mandated by Solano County’s Board of Supervisors is made available to the public.]

California Forever preempts county with own economic impact report

Jan Sramek, chief executive officer of California Forever, speaks during the Solano County Board of Supervisors meeting at the Government Center in Fairfield, Tuesday, June 25, 2024. | Aaron Rosenblatt / Daily Republic.

Daily Republic, by Todd R. Hansen, July 16, 2024

FAIRFIELD — California Forever has released a 22-page highly technical economic impact report on its East Solano Plan – one week ahead of Solano County presenting its own impact assessment to the Board of Supervisors.

The California Forever report – compiled by Oakland-based Blue Sky Consulting Group, the same firm that did the impact analysis on the proposed solar farm – addresses primarily the first phase of the proposed project.

It includes the construction value of the project, and the value of what it terms ongoing activity.

The first phase of construction would generate, on average, $2.4 billion in economic value annually, and once built out and fully occupied, there would be another $16.14 billion in ongoing activity, the report states. That figure would only grow with additional construction adding to the number of residents and businesses.

The first phase includes “approximately 23,000 new homes for 50,000 new residents, 10 million square feet of commercial and other buildings, and a 2,000-megawatt solar power generation facility,” the document states.

Specifically, the construction would include:

  • Residential: 22,804 new units of housing for future residents of the new community.
  • Non-residential: 10.1 million square feet of non-residential buildings.
  • Infrastructure: All basic infrastructure necessary to support the new residents and businesses, including roads and bike paths, and infrastructure for electricity, water, wastewater, telecommunications and transportation.
  • Public facilities: Schools, libraries, parks and open space, and government administration and public safety buildings.
  • Solar facility: 2,000 megawatt of panel capacity and 5,000 megawatt of battery storage.

In total, residential development costs are an estimated $11.1 billion ($0.86 billion annually); non-residential construction costs are an estimated $2.6 billion ($0.20 billion annually); infrastructure, public buildings and solar facility are an estimated $19.05 billion ($1.47 billion annually).

“Phases Two and beyond would be a continuation of the development beyond 50,000 residents. All dollar amounts are presented in … (2024) dollars. Actual amounts would likely be larger due to increases in line with inflation.”

The executive summary states that construction of the first phase, if the initiative is placed on the Nov. 5 ballot and backed by the voters, would occur between 2028 through 2040.

Read more at the Daily Republic…

MORE . . .

>> Get involved… Solano Together is another local organization opposing California Forever. Between now and November, you can get a yard sign from Solano Together and send Solano Together a much needed donation.

>> Read more… BenIndy coverage of the billionaire land grab, California Forever / East Solano Plan.

Benicia CA, Benicia City Council, BISHO, EngageBenicia.com

Benicia City Council to hear Industrial Safety presentation tomorrow, Tues. 16, at 6pm (& why you should pay attention)

Be there tomorrow at 6pm (or write in before 2pm) to call for better industrial safety and health rules for Benicia

From Terry Mollica, Chair of Benicia’s Industrial Safety and Health Ordinance (BISHO) Working Group, July 14, 2024

I’m writing to alert supporters that Benicia City Council will have a “status report” presentation on July 16, 2024, after 6:00 p.m., about the preparation of an Industrial Safety Ordinance (“ISO”).
Among other things, the City is expected to present to the public for the first time the draft ISO for public comment.  If you are able, please tune in to the City Council meeting to get more information.  You can access the agenda and see how to attend the meeting using this link. [BenIndy: Scroll down for a quick how-to-participate guide.]
The expectation is that after Tuesday’s hearing, the City Council will have two subsequent meetings where the draft ISO is “read,” meaning that public comment will be accepted.  At the second reading, the expectation is that the ISO will receive a final vote and be adopted by the City Council.
We had hoped to be further along in the process by now, but do expect that the ISO will be adopted in August or September, 2024.
Please continue to monitor City Council actions toward adoption of the ISO.  The presentation on Tuesday may address the timetable for adoption.  A showing of public support for the ISO may prove to be critical in getting it passed.
We are very excited to be making progress toward the adoption of the ISO.  Thank you all for your continued support, particularly, the members of the Working Group who have worked so hard and diligently to get us to this point!

To learn more about the project and the public engagement process, visit the City’s public engagement website, www.EngageBenicia.com.

The following is from the July 16 Agenda Packet

Attending the Meeting In Person:

Accessing The Meeting
How to Participate in the Meeting:
1) Attend in person at Council Chambers
2) Cable T.V. Broadcast – Check with your cable provider for your local government broadcast channel.
3) Livestream online at www.ci.benicia.ca.us/agendas.
4) Zoom Meeting (link below)

The public may view and participate (via computer or phone) link: https://us02web.zoom.us/j/88508047557?pwd=cHRsZlBrYlphU3pkODcycytmcFR2UT09

  • If prompted for a password, enter 449303.
  • Use participant option to “raise hand” during the public comment period for the item you wish to speak on. Please note, your electronic device must have microphone capability. Once unmuted, you will have up to 5 minutes to speak.

Dial in with phone:
Before the start of the item you wish to comment on, call any of the numbers

• Enter the meeting ID number: 885 0804 7557 *please note this is an updated ID number* item you wish to speak on. Once unmuted, you will have up to 5 minutes to speak.

  • Enter password: 449303
  • When prompted for a Participant ID, press #.
  • Press *9 on your phone to “raise your hand” when the Mayor calls for public comment during the item you wish to speak on. Once unmuted, you will have up to 5 minutes to speak. [BenIndy: The time limit may be 3 minutes now.]

Writing In:

How to Submit Public Comments for this City Council meeting:
Besides appearing in person and offering public comments, members of the public may provide public comment via Zoom, or to the City Clerk by email at lwolfe@ci.benicia.ca.us. Any comment submitted to the City Clerk should indicate to which item of the agenda the comment relates. [BenIndy: This is item 16A.]

Specific information follows:

– Comments received by 2:00 pm on the day of the meeting will be electronically forwarded to the City Council and posted on the City’s website.

– Comments received after 2:00 pm, but before the start time of the meeting will be electronically forwarded to the City Council but will not be posted on the City’s website.

For safe and healthy communities…