Category Archives: Benicia Open Space

Renewal of Benicia’s Urban Growth Boundary

Good news! ..and a call for your support!

At their July 19th meeting the Benicia City Council unanimously (5-0) approved placing the renewal of the City’s Urban Growth Boundary (UGB) on the November 2022 ballot.  [Editor: Minutes are not yet available, but see the Council’s July 19th Agenda, p. 10, for details.  The final text of the 2022 Measure K is available here on the Solano County website.]

Background

In response to development proposals in the 1990’s Benicia residents drafted and put on the ballot Measure K. In 2003 Benicia residents voted on and approved Measure K. That citizen initiative stated that Sky Valley, the hills north of Benicia, would remain undeveloped. Measure K runs for 20 years and expires in 2023. Benicia’s 2022 ballot measure (also called Measure K) would extend that protection for an additional 20 years – until December 31, 2043. The language of the renewal measure is exactly the same as the current measure except for the expiration date.

If the renewal of Measure K is approved by voters, then the area beyond our UGB will be protected from development for an additional 20 years. This means that the hills north of Lake Herman Road will be protected from development until 2043!

Call for support!

Now it is time to put together a campaign urging Benicia voters to vote yes on the renewal of the UGB. In order to run a successful campaign, we do need to raise money for this effort. So, the campaign committee would appreciate it if you will make a contribution. The campaign committee is the Solano County Orderly Growth Committee so checks should be made out to that group.

The maximum contribution is $640.00 per person. We will need your address, employer, and occupation with the check. If you are self-employed, please provide the name of your business. Just note “Retired” if that works for you.

Please send your check to:

Attn: Michael Zeiss, Treasurer
Solano County Orderly Growth Committee
832 Driftwood Drive
Suisun City CA 94585

If you would like more information regarding the renewal effort or want to help, please contact Bob Berman, 707-208-1991 or by email bob@nicholsberman.com.

Thanks for your contribution.

Call for public comments – time to advocate for Benicia Parks, Trails and Open Space

Benicia Parks, Trails, Open Space Master Plan update begins

LoveBeniciaParks.com

Vallejo Times-Herald, April 12, 2021
(See also the City of Benicia press release of April 7.)

The City of Benicia has begun work to update the 1997 Parks, Trails, and Open Space Master Plan to guide the planning, maintenance, development, and rehabilitation of Benicia’s parks, trails, and open
space system.

Benicia residents are invited to join in the process, which will be led by the Parks & Community Services Department, as the city seeks feedback from all members of the community about the future of Benicia’s parks, trails, and open space system.

The City of Benicia Parks & Community Services Department manages 28 parks totaling approximately 700 acres, including the 577-acre Lake Herman Regional Park and the 50-acre Benicia Community Park, all of which is managed under a system Master Plan that was adopted in 1997. The updated master plan will serve as a long-range planning and asset management document that provides a framework for understanding the financial investments needed to maintain and improve the parks, trails, and open space assets Benicia owns. The plan will provide a better understanding of the current and future maintenance needs and a capital improvement program to guide reinvestment.

Mayor Steve Young encourages the community to get involved, stating, “It has been 24 years since Benicia reviewed its parks program. While we know our parks are loved by our community, it is time to look to a plan for improving them and sustaining them into the future. This review process needs the considered comments of our community. Please watch for opportunities to get involved.”

Benicia has hired a consultant team that includes RHA Landscape ArchitectsPlanners, PROS Consulting, WRT Planning + Design, and the ETC Institute.

Doug Grove, RHA President, said, “Benicia has such a wonderful collection of parks, trails, and open space it is clear why residents are so proud of their city. Our goal is to engage the community in the most inclusive and innovative manner possible and to let the community’s values and unmet needs drive the priorities for Benicia’s future.”

The consulting team has developed an ADA-accessible, crowdsourcing website to guide this project at LoveBeniciaParks.com. This site will serve as the one-stop shop to provide all plan updates, list meeting dates, host online surveys and provide the community opportunities to continue sharing their feedback throughout the planning process.

Benicia will conduct two identical virtual public input meetings to gather feedback from residents. These meetings, which will be open to the public, seek to engage the Benicia community to obtain their input through live polling, Q&A, and public comments. The meetings will be held on Wednesday, April 28 and again on Thursday, April 29 from 6 to 7 p.m. Those who are unable to attend a virtual public meetings may view the recordings of the meetings at LoveBeniciaParks.com and share their feedback later.

Additionally, there will be follow up meetings later in the year to present the findings from the study and gather additional input from the community.

BENICIA – Solar Energy versus Open Space – pros and cons…

By Roger Straw, July 6, 2020

BENICIA CA – The arguments for and against a proposed Lake Herman Road Solar Project are persuasive.  The good and the bad have caused an unusual divide, if not an ugly one.

Actually, the debate has been civil and constructive.

It all comes to a head tomorrow.  Benicia City Council will hear the case and take a vote at it’s virtual meeting Tuesday, July 7.  Our Planning Commission denied the project in May, but that decision was appealed to the City Council by the project sponsor, Renewable Properties.

Here are two well reasoned opinions.  You decide, and let the City Council know what you think.

Support, by Larnie Fox

Proposed Lake Herman Road Solar Project

Council Members ~

I’m writing to ask you to vote to approve the proposed 35 acre solar array on Lake Herman Road.

As you all know, climate change is a serious and growing threat to all people, so we all have a responsibility to help counter it. When people say “think globally, act locally” this is exactly the sort of action they are talking about. While no one wants to lose open space, obtaining enough clean energy for 1,700 Benicia households is a big step in the right direction.

My wife and I walked to the area in question. It is not useful for recreation. The livestock currently grazing there will still have access to 54 acres of the 89 acre parcel after the solar panels are installed. We were glad to see that the plans call for planting native trees and plants that will mostly screen the site from view. They also call for creating a pollinator plant meadow which will increase local biodiversity. Personally, I like seeing solar panels because I know the good they are doing.

It would be preferable to install solar panels on homes and businesses, over parking lots and even over roads. However – we are clearly not there yet, and we need to take action now. Waiting a year or two is not acceptable.

There is a concern that approval of this project will create an open door for other, less desirable, development in our designated open space areas ~ so I hope Council will take care to ensure that no such loopholes are created as you approve this important project.

I’d like the City to take a more proactive and visionary leadership approach to opportunities like this. For example, could the City identify asphalt-covered terrain, roofs in the Industrial Park, or other possible mixed-use sites where responsible companies like Renewable Properties could install solar arrays? Could the City actively facilitate partnerships between solar or wind energy providers and local businesses to encourage clean energy development?

For now, I feel that the imperative to address the climate crisis and lower our carbon footprint needs to take precedence over protecting this small parcel of open space.

Let’s not make the perfect be the enemy of the good.

Larnie Fox
Benicia resident

Opposition, by Don Dean

I see that the Lake Herman solar project is on the agenda for next week’s City Council meeting.  I haven’t changed my stance on the project; I still think it’s a good project in the wrong location, and that the Planning Commission did the right thing in denying it.  I’m all for solar power and fighting climate change, and so is everybody I know. But that doesn’t mean that every solar project is a good one.  There are three issues here.

The first issue is designated Open Space and how we value it–or we don’t.  Notice I capitalized Open Space.  This is an official City designation.  The solar project is proposed on City-designated Open Space land.  So it’s not just undeveloped land waiting for an acceptable use to come along; in this case it’s specifically designated in Benicia’s General Plan to remain open for agricultural or recreational uses. The State of California considers Open Space important enough that it mandates an Open Space element be included in each city’s General Plan. With the pandemic we’re all involved in, open space has become more important than ever for our exercise, recreation, and sanity.   With options for travel limited now, I find I drive Lake Herman Road more than ever and appreciate the vistas more than ever.

Second, this is about more than just one project on Lake Herman Road. The proposed zoning change necessary for the project would apply to about 159 parcels (2,000+acres) spread throughout Benicia.  There has been no real analysis of how many other solar facilities could be constructed or where those might occur.  The City has relied on a study by the applicant that asserts the number of solar-developable parcels would be very small. But that analysis doesn’t seem to have been independently verified.  If the City is serious about solar development in Open Space areas, let’s have a community discussion about how and where solar is appropriate rather than make the decision based on approving one project.

Third, this is an industrial-scale solar project. It will blanket 35 acres with wall-to-wall panels.  It belongs in an industrial area.  The Benicia Climate Action Plan calls for solar development at large parking lot sites belonging to Amports, Valero, and the City.  As far as I know, no one has approached Amports or Valero about adding solar arrays to their property. Not only would this generate power, but it would reduce the heat island effect from acres of asphalt.  Shouldn’t we be looking for solar in these already developed areas rather than converting our Open Space to industrial uses and building outside the Urban Growth Boundary? Isn’t planning about being proactive for the future and protecting our existing resources?

I understand the urgency some people feel about getting a major solar facility to combat climate change, but this issue of solar development versus Open Space is a false choice.  I don’t see why we need to sacrifice one to gain the other. Bottom line—I think this is a good project in the wrong place. I don’t think the project should be approved.

You already have my letter to the Planning Commission that lays out some of the more technical points of the discussion. Feel free to share this email.

Thanks,

Don Dean
Benicia resident