Tag Archives: Just Transition

City of Benicia, Data Centers, Just transition, Signature Development Group, Valero Benicia Refinery

Should Benicia allow data centers? City grapples with zoning

Benicia Planning Commission is considering banning large-scale data centers and limiting smaller ones under the industrial zoning code.

Aerial view of a large data center campus in Hutto, Texas, with three massive buildings with 400m square feet of space and 600 MW power capacity. Adobe

The Benicia Bridge, By Monica Vaughan, September 9, 2026

As Benicia prepares for waves of development following the closure of the Valero Refinery, city officials will consider banning large-scale data centers and limiting smaller ones.

“Right now, if a data center wanted to come into our industrial park, they would be allowed ‘by right,’” City Manager Mario Giuliani told The Benicia Bridge.

The Benicia Planning Commission will hold a public hearing Thursday and plans to vote that evening on recommended changes to the zoning code to add specific language regulating data centers. The City Council will have final say before any zoning changes are adopted.

Cities across the country – from Coachella to Corpus Christi – are adopting moratoriums or outright bans on large-scale data centers in response to public outcry over centers’ heavy resource use.

No data center has been proposed in Benicia…. [continued on The Benicia Bridge – click here…]

Excerpt posted from The Benicia Bridge
Excellent reporting from Benicia’s newest award-winning journalism duo, Monica Vaughan and Laura López González.
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Bay Area Air District, Benicia Unified School District, City of Benicia, Just transition, Valero Benicia Refinery

Benicia News – Bay Area Air District grants $40M to City of Benicia, Benicia School District

[Editor: Great news! As far back as 2014, I reported on Benicians petitioning the Air Board to share refinery fines with the communities harmed by the toxic violations. The Air District’s $40 million grants go to show the importance of never giving up! Thanks to Mayor Young and the current Air District Board; and thanks to all who raised awareness by organizing to pass Benicia’s Industrial Safety Ordinance; and thanks to former Mayor Elizabeth Patterson and others who saw the future and pressed for this important Air District accountability and sharing. Following are three reports from local news outlets. – R.S.]

The Vallejo Sun: Bay Area Air District announces $40M in funding for city of Benicia, school district

The grant was awarded from a record $82 million fine against the Valero Refining Company in 2024.

Bay Area Air District Executive Officer Phillip M. Fine announces a $40 million grant award to Benicia at the Benicia Community Center. Photo by Gretchen Smail.

The Vallejo Sun, September 4, 2026

BENICIA – The Bay Area Air District announced $40 million in grant funding for the city of Benicia and the Benicia Unified School District at a press conference on Thursday morning at the Benicia Community Center.

The funds were awarded to the city and the school district from an $82 million fine levied on the Valero Refining Company in 2024 for nearly two decades of toxic emissions releases in Benicia that exceeded legal limits. It’s still the largest penalty ever assessed by the air district.

“This is the first award that the air district is making under our groundbreaking policy that ensures that penalty funds from air quality violations go back into the community where they can have a meaningful local benefit,” said Bay Area Air District Executive Officer Philip Fine. “The City of Benicia and Benicia Unified… […continued…]

The Benicia Bridge: City of Benicia awarded ‘groundbreaking’ $30 million in Valero settlement money for just economic transition and clean air projects

(Left to right) Benicia School Superintendent Chris Calabrese, Benicia Mayor Steve Young, and Bay Area Air District Executive Officer Dr. Philip Fine look on as City Manager Mario Giuliani addresses a crowd of residents and journalists at Thursday’s announcement. Monica Vaughan

The Benicia Bridge, by Monica Vaughan

The City of Benicia will receive $30 million of Valero settlement funds in a landmark grant t… […continued…]

The Benicia Bridge: Benicia schools get $10 million from Valero settlement funds for clean air projects

Benicia Unified School District Office shown Sept. 2, 2026. Monica Vaughan

The Benicia Bridge, by Monica Vaughan

Benicia Unified School District was awarded $10 million of Valero settlement funds from the Bay Area Air District Wednesday for clean air projects, part of a new grant process to redistribute money from air quality fines to impacted communities. […continued…]

Vallejo Times-Herald: Bay Area Air District invests $40 million in Benicia

Air District reinvests penalties from air quality violations into various projects

Benicia City Manager Mario Giuliani talks about how a 40 million dollar grant from the Bay Area Air District, as a result of Valero air quality penalty funds, will help the City of Benicia and the school district during a press conference at the Benicia Community Center on Thursday. (Chris Riley/Times-Herald)

Vallejo Times-Herald, September 3, 2026

The Bay Area Air District announced Thursday it is investing $40 million in Benicia, including $30 million for the city and $10 million for the Benicia Unified School District to support projects aimed at improving air quality, public health and community resilience.

The Benicia Catalyst grants are the first round of awards in the Catalyst grant category of the Local Community Benefits Fund. The Air District adopted the Community Benefits Fund Policy in 2024 to reinvest penalties from air quality violations into impacted communities.

“This is a significant investment by the Air District in the future of Benicia, and it comes at a consequential time in our history as the city prepares for the economic and operational impact associated with the closure of the Valero refinery,” said Benicia Mayor Steve Young. “It’s especially meaningful and appropriate… […continued]

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Benicia City Council, Kari Birdseye, Local elections

Kari Birdseye Announces Campaign for Reelection to Benicia City Council

“I’m ready, steady and committed to service.”

Press release, August 1, 2026

Kari Birdseye, Benicia City Council

**BENICIA, Calif. [August 1, 2026] — Benicia City Council Member Kari Birdseye today announced she is running for reelection in November 2026, seeking a second term to continue the work she began after taking office in 2022.

Birdseye’s first term coincided with one of the most consequential periods in Benicia’s recent history, as the city confronted the winding down of Valero’s refinery operations and the loss of a major piece of its tax base. During that time, she helped lead the council’s development and implementation of the new Industrial Health and Safety Ordinance, chaired the city’s task force coordinating with Benicia Industrial Park businesses and the Port of Benicia on the refinery site’s transition, and consistently promoted economic diversification, including exploring the port’s potential role in offshore wind manufacturing.

“‘We’re in the middle of the most important transition Benicia has faced in decades,” said Council Member Birdseye. “I’m running for reelection to continue my transparent, intelligent, independent leadership to this city. The next four years will require a steady focus on what’s best for our community in the short and long term. I’m ready, steady and committed to service.”

Birdseye’s public service in Benicia predates her council seat by a decade. She joined the Human Services Board in 2012, was appointed to the Planning Commission in 2014, and later chaired that commission — including during its 2016 decision to reject Valero’s proposal to bring crude oil into the city by rail.

Before entering local politics, Birdseye spent 11 years at CNN, where she was part of an Emmy Award-winning news team, and later worked in communications for the Wine Institute and Earthjustice. She currently serves as Director of Regional Media and Public Affairs at Natural Resources Defense Council (NRDC).

Birdseye and her husband, James, have lived in Benicia since 2000 and raised their two children, Julia and Joey, in the city’s schools.

Website: votekaribirdseye.com

Her campaign says the reelection bid will center on finishing the work started in her first term: guiding the redevelopment of the former refinery site, protecting Benicia’s air and water, and stabilizing the city’s finances for the long term. More information on Birdseye’s campaign, including how to volunteer or donate, is available at VoteKariBirdseye.com.

City of Benicia, Just transition, Signature Development Group, Valero Benicia Refinery

Benicia News – Valero redevelopment: Who will pay for new roads, service lines, parks?

Plus, read Signature Development Group’s latest report submitted to the City of Benicia

A Signature Development Group rendering of single family homes proposed for the site.

The Benicia Bridge Newsletter, By Laura López González, July 15, 2026

Valero-contracted Signature Development Group may submit a formal planning application to the City of Benicia as soon as this fall to redevelop the energy company’s 900 acres along East Second Street. The developer’s dreams may be funded in part by new property taxes for future owners in the redevelopment zone, according to documents Signature has submitted to the City.

What: Valero has contracted East Bay property developer, Signature Development Group, to redevelop the site of its former Benicia refinery. The Benicia Bridge broke the news of the plant’s official idling in mid-April.

The Benicia Bridge obtained Signature Development Group’s pre-application document, which has not previously been made public. Read Signature’s document and presentation. […continued on The Benicia Bridge – click here…]

Reposted with permission, The Benicia Bridge
Excellent reporting from Benicia’s newest award-winning journalism duo, Monica Vaughan and Laura López González. – Roger Straw
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