Category Archives: Arsenal

1000 Friends Protecting Historic Benicia, Arsenal

Historic Design Competition Opens Tonight, 6pm at Benicia Library – Entries On Display Nov. 16-18

From 1000 Friends Protecting Historic Benicia:

1000 Friends Protecting Historic Benicia is sponsoring a design competition. The vision and ideas of students and community members submitted to the competition will be on view – two classes from Benicia High School are submitting nine concepts.  One other entry has been submitted at press time, which was before the deadline of November 15th.

Please join us this Thursday, November 16th for a short presentation by 1000 Friends and Benicia High School entries process discussed by Mr. Kaiser. Opening night program to begin at 6pm.

WHERE:  Benicia Public Library Dona Benicia Room, 150 East L Street

WHO:  Anyone can come to the Library and vote for the design that you think meets the criteria derived from the adopted Conservation Plan and the Secretary of Interior Standards.

WHEN:  Opening night program begins at 6pm November 16. Concepts will be on display November 16, 18 and 19th

CONTACT:  Elizabeth Patterson; info@1000friendphb.org

Competition Prize – Painting of Lower Arsenal by Linda Grebmeier.

This painting was graciously donated by the artist to support the 1000 friends Design Competition and to raise awareness of the Historic Arsenal and new development that threatens the future historic status of the Jefferson Ridge.

The painting depicts the Lower Arsenal area near the waterfront looking towards Jefferson Ridge. This scene is characterized by development occurring during the WWI and WWII era.

About Linda Grebmeier Linda Grebmeier lived and worked in studio space in the Benicia Arsenal for over 20 years. Linda was raised in California, completed her MA degree at Central Washington University, studied with Cynthia Krieble and George Stillman.

Linda cites the complexity of the Benicia industrial waterfront as a challenge that inspired her painting of urban landscapes. The Arsenal, Cargo Ships and Industrial Prints series evolved from time spent in the Arsenal studio space surrounded by transport vehicles and bridges. Linda also painted a series based on the Yuba Site inspired by the famed 1850s Yuba factory in the Benicia Arsenal which is now demolished.

For more information, see Linda’s website: https://paintsong.com/

Looking west across Jefferson Ridge today.
A visual simulation of the approved development.

 

Join the campaign!

…to find a way to “Preserve – Not Destroy” the Benicia Arsenal…
Stay Informed and Donate – (501)©(3)  1000FriendsPHB.org

See earlier on BenIndy:

1000 Friends Protecting Historic Benicia, Arsenal

Sunday, March 12th –  Benicia Arsenal: A Cautionary Tale

Protect Historic Benicia!

Panel Presentation, 2:00 to 3:00 pm:

  • Gary Widman – former: 1st Lt., Benicia Arsenal, 1958-59; Prof of Environ. Law, UC Hastings; General Counsel, Council on Environmental Quality, Executive Office of the President; Gen. Counsel, Calif Dept.of Parks and Recreation & Office of Historic Preservation; Director, Office of Staff Attorneys, US Court of Appeals, Ninth Circuit.
  • Gregory Tilles – Professor Emeritus of History, Diablo Valley College
  • Steven Goetz – Benicia Arsenal Park Task Force

The panel will highlight the 162-year life of the Arsenal that shaped Benicia. Our Civil War-era military installation is a unique geographic and architectural gem of the Western United States, and a state and national-registered historic district. Development plans approved by the city pursuant to SB 35 are inconsistent with thirty years of City planning policies and decades of historic preservation efforts by hundreds of citizens to preserve and enhance the Benicia Arsenal.

Our lawsuit filed in November 2022, challenges city approval of two SB 35 multifamily complexes in the Historic Arsenal District listed on the National Register. The district is inclusive of the structures and grounds. The projects approved fail to comply with Secretary of Interior standards for development affecting historic structures and place. We are certain that court review will show wrecking a unique, historic district is not legal or right. Seeing and understanding the historical and cultural resources are critical for the court to understand why SB35 is wrongly used in this case and a flawed piece of legislation.

Tours – Docent-led

  • Historic Jefferson Street walks – 3:15 and 4:00 pm
  • Home tours: two non-commissioned officer homes – 3:15 to 4:30 pm

Docent-led tours of the Clocktower Fortress, the adjacent Officers’ Row, and historic homes on Jefferson Street will give you a window into Benicia’s history and life at a U.S. Army base more than 150 years ago. Gathering for recreation and spectacular views of the Carquinez Strait from Jefferson Ridge was part of the Army’s original design. We are called to protect this special place.

Related attractions at the Arsenal:

Benicia Historical Museum is open 1:00 to 4:00 pm
($3 for adults, $2 for children, free for active military with identification)
Arts Benicia – Exhibits at the Commanding Officer’s Quarters are open until 5:00 pm

Join the campaign!

…to find a way to “Preserve – Not Destroy” the Benicia Arsenal…
Stay Informed and Donate – (501)©(3)  1000FriendsPHB.org

See earlier on BenIndy:

1000 Friends Protecting Historic Benicia, Arsenal

Community Forum: the Benicia Arsenal, A Cautionary Tale

Protect Historic Benicia!

WHO:  1000 Friends Protecting Historic Benicia – non-profit 501(c)(3)

 WHAT:   Community Forum – Benicia Arsenal – Panel presentation and tours illustrating superior alternatives to the approved streamline approved SB 35  housing projects for 19 buildings, 138 condominium units that will erase the landscape and hide the existing historic 19th-century structures.  Intact for over 150 years, the historic district overlooking the Carquinez Straits will become  just a footnote in Benicia’s history.

When:  March 12, 2PM

Where:  Clocktower – 1189 Washington Street, Historic Arsenal, Benicia

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Benicia Arsenal: A Cautionary Tale – Sunday, March 12, at 2:00 pm Clocktower Fortress, 1189 Washington Street, Benicia Arsenal.  Free event, ample parking

Panel Presentation, 2:00 to 3:00 pm:

  • Gary Widman – former: 1st Lt., Benicia Arsenal, 1958-59; Prof of Environ. Law, UC Hastings;  General Counsel, Council on Environmental Quality, Executive Office of the President; Gen. Counsel, Calif Dept. of Parks and Recreation & Office of Historic Preservation;  Director, Office of Staff Attorneys, US Court of Appeals, Ninth Circuit.
  • Gregory Tilles – Professor Emeritus of History, Diablo Valley College
  • Steven Goetz – Benicia Arsenal Park Task Force
  • Blake Roberts, Moderator – D., Program Manager of the Sacramento-San Joaquin Delta National Heritage Area

The panel will highlight the 162-year life of the Arsenal that shaped Benicia.  Our Civil War-era military installation is a unique geographic and architectural gem of the Western United States, and a state and national-registered historic district. Panelists will review current environmental challenges and threats, including approved high-density development plans for the heart of the historic district.  Developing and preserving does not have to be in conflict. Better alternatives will be presented.

Tours – Docent-led

  • Historic Jefferson Street walks – 3:15 and 4:00 pm
  • Home tours: two non-commissioned officer homes – 3:15 to 4:30 pm

After the panel, docent-led tours of the Clocktower Fortress, the adjacent Officers’ Row, and historic homes on Jefferson Street will give you a window into Benicia’s history and life at a U.S. Army base more than 150 years ago. Gathering for recreation and spectacular views of the Carquinez Strait from Jefferson Ridge was part of the Army’s original design.  We are called to this campaign to preserve and enhance the Benicia Arsenal.

Related attractions at the Arsenal:

  • Benicia Historical Museum is open 1:00 to 4:00 pm ($3 for adults, $2 for children, free for active military with identification)
    Arts Benicia – Exhibits at the Commanding Officer’s Quarters are open until 5:00 pm
  • Join the campaign to find a way to “Develop – Not Destroy” the Benicia

Stay Informed and Donate (501)©(3):  www.1000FriendsPHB.org

See earlier on BenIndy:

1000 Friends Protecting Historic Benicia, Arsenal

Local non-profit sues City of Benicia – Development threatens Civil-War era buildings and grounds

[To sign a petition in support of this lawsuit to stop the City of Benicia plan, see “Help Us Appeal the City’s Approval of these projects!” on Change.org.  For earlier stories on this see below.  – R.S.]

1000 FRIENDS PROTECTING HISTORIC BENICIA

Press Release, November 21, 2022
Contact:  Elizabeth Patterson, elopato29@gmail.com

1,000 Friends Protecting Historic Benicia, a local non-profit, fights to save Officers’ Row, in the nationally recognized Benicia Arsenal Historic District, from city approved development that will destroy the district’s historic significance. The development threatens Civil-War era buildings and grounds surviving from President Lincoln’s commissioning of the Benicia Arsenal Army base.

Present-day aerial view of Benicia’s Officers’ Row

WHAT:  1000 Friends Protecting Historic Benicia is suing the City of Benicia to stop it from issuing permits and is seeking a peremptory writ of mandate ordering the City and its agencies and commissions to set aside and void the City’s recent approvals of two development projects in the Benicia Arsenal Historic District.

“Projects that destroy or impair the significance of a site on the National Register, as these projects do, clearly have the most significant adverse impact on historic resources,” said Gary Widman, former Chief Counsel for the California State Department of Parks and Recreation and the Office of Historic Preservation.

BACKGROUND:  In August 2022, the City of Benicia approved two development projects for Officers’ Row in the heart of the Benicia Arsenal Historic District which the U.S. government listed on the National Register of Historic Places, deeming it worthy of preservation due to its historical significance to the country.

The Jefferson Ridge Project would build 121 housing units and 2,000 square feet of commercial/retail space on Jefferson Street, including the former flagpole assembly area between the Commanding Officer’s Quarters and the Lieutenant’s Quarters. A total of 16 three- story structures would flank Jefferson Street, dominating the three historic houses adjacent to this project and blocking character-defining views of the Carquinez Strait.

The 1451 Park Road Project, would build 17 apartments in 2 two-story buildings incompatible with the scale and style of the historic non-commissioned officers’ quarters immediately west on Jefferson Street.

​Designated a State Historical Landmark in 1935, the Benicia Arsenal was placed on the National Register of Historic Places in 1976 and was a key contributor to establishment of the National Park Service’s Sacramento-San Joaquin Delta National Heritage Area in 2019.

The Arsenal’s Officers’ Row offers one of the nation’s most impressive ensembles of mid-19th-century military architecture and open spaces, largely intact as built over 150 years ago. Meticulously planned by the Army, the layout is a prime example of military site design, with careful thought given to building scale, placement, and sight lines.

The two projects needed the City of Benicia to determine that they qualified for fast-track approval under a new state law, California Senate Bill 35 (SB 35), that restricts review of projects to their consistency with “objective standards.”

Members of the community highlighted several conflicts with the Arsenal Historic Conservation Plan (AHCP) and objective planning and zoning standards for both projects. This included several standards for which the City claimed the projects demonstrated consistency.

The City subsequently removed many of the standards it had identified as conflicting with the projects as proposed.

The City also failed to incorporate many standards from the AHCP. In particular, a commenter stated that in reviewing the 1451 Park Road Project, the City only applied 37 of the 64 design standards and guidelines from the AHCP that apply to the design of residential buildings in Officers’ Row.

The City failed to consider public safety standards because City staff stated that Senate Bill 35 applications were not subject to any such standards, since they contain subjective as well as objective elements and therefore had to be considered subjective.

Despite the various inconsistencies, on August 26, 2022, the City issued ministerial approvals for both projects. The City subsequently denied members of the public the right to appeal the two projects.

ACTION:  The lawsuit challenges both approvals based on errors in assessing environmental hazards and violations of City of Benicia ordinances concerning the current general plan and zoning.  

1000 Friends Protecting Historic Benicia is a non-profit Benicia organization represented by attorney Doug Carstens, Chatten-Brown, Carstens & Minteer, a public interest-oriented law firm specializing in environmental and land use law. Individuals of the non-profit and other members of the public are on record with the City with many protest letters and public hearing appearances over the past two years. The goal of this campaign is to establish a park that will honor and protect the nationally recognized Arsenal Historic District forever.

WEBSITE COMING SOON:  1000FriendsPHB.org
SEE ALSO EXISTING WEBSITE:  YES! Benicia Arsenal Park

See earlier on BenIndy: