Tag Archives: The Benicia Bridge

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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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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Arts Benicia, Public Art

Benicia Art: A Phoenix rises on First Street in new mural

Large public art piece on the building owned by Vickie Marchand of NY2CA Gallery

A new mural called “Together We Rise” was nearly complete on Thursday, June 4. NY2CA Gallery commissioned the piece through the Global Art Project with artists Kemit Amenophis and Mike D’Amelio, and contributions from 13 local artists. Photo by Kirk Barron.

The Benicia Bridge, By Monica Vaughan, June 5, 2026

A Phoenix has risen on Benicia’s First Street in a new mural with the intention of inspiring hope and lifting each other together through change in uncertain times.

Bay Area artists Kemit Amenophis and Mike D’Amelio began painting the large public art piece in May on the north-facing side of a building owned by Vickie Marchand, who owns NY2CA Gallery inside. NY2CA commissioned the mural through the Global Art Project, an international collective of artists founded by Benicia-based artist Carl Heyward.

Titled “Together We Rise,” the new mural is years in the making and rich with meaning.

Glowing gold against a swirling, colorful sky, a large bird …
[…continued (with many great photos) on The Benicia Bridge.]

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

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Benicia CA, Local Regulation, Taxes

Benicia News – What’s up with the city’s Business License Tax?

Proposed changes to the current fee structure

Click the image to view the 39-page presentation by HdL Companies.

The Benicia Bridge Newsletter, By Monica Vaughan, June 2, 2026

City officials want to revamp Benicia’s business license tax program – the fee that businesses are supposed to pay to operate in Benicia. The City Council will discuss proposed changes and increases at its meeting tonight with the goal of directing staff to write a ballot measure for voters to consider in the November election.

The current fee structure is based on gross receipts and business type, with an exemption for those who bring in less than $10,000 a year. The fee ranges between $75 to  $450.

An initial conversation… […continued on The Benicia Bridge.]

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

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