Category Archives: Valero Benicia Refinery

Benicia City Council, Benicia Planning Commission, Crude By Rail, Local Regulation, Valero Benicia Appeal, Valero Benicia Refinery, Valero Crude By Rail

Benicia City Council public comment will be on April 4, 6, 18 and 19

By Roger Straw, February 9, 2016
[Editor:  UPDATE – Note additional hearing date of Monday, April 18. This new date is IN ADDITION TO the previously scheduled hearings.  – RS]

Benicia announces City Council dates for hearings on Valero Crude by Rail appeal

Hearings will begin on March 15 and continue for public comment on April 4, 6, 18 and 19

The Benicia City Council Agenda for March 15 included staff recommendations on Valero’s appeal of the Benicia Planning Commission’s unanimous February 11 decision to deny Valero Crude By Rail.

Staff is recommending that Council begin the hearings on March 15 and continue for public comment on Monday, April 4, Wednesday, April 6, and Tuesday, April 19 if needed.  Note that these dates for public hearings are NOT CONSECUTIVE EVENINGS as was the case in previous hearings.

Staff recommended the Council hear city staff and representatives of Valero on March 15, and then ask questions. UPDATE ON MARCH 11 – The Planning Commission has been granted 15 minutes to present its case at the March 15 City Council meeting. Chair Don Dean will represent the Commission.

Other documents released today include the following:

Written public comments are encouraged now!  Send your thoughts to the City Council by email directed to Amy Million, Principal Planner, Benicia Community Development Department:amillion@ci.benicia.ca.us. You may also send your letter Amy Million by mail to 250 East L Street, Benicia, CA 94510, or by Fax: (707) 747-1637.

And mark your calendar now, so you don’t forget.  Please plan to attend on Tuesday, March 15 for the presentations, and again on Monday, April 4, Wednesday, April 6 and Tuesday, April 19.  All meetings will be held at 7:00 p.m. in City Hall Council Chamber, 250 East, L Street, Benicia.

Benicia City Council, Benicia Planning Commission, Crude By Rail, Local Regulation, Valero Benicia Appeal, Valero Benicia Refinery, Valero Crude By Rail

Chair of Benicia Planning Commission to speak at March 15 City Council meeting

By Roger Straw, February 12, 2016

Commission votes to send a representative, will get 15 minutes

At its meeting on March 10, the Benicia Planning Commission was granted 15 minutes to present its case at the March 15 City Council meeting. Chair Don Dean will represent the Commission.

This would seem to be an adjustment in the agenda.

Previously, the public notice on the March 15 hearing stated that “Staff presentations and Valero presentations will take place on March 15, 2015.”  An email from the City confirmed that “The City and Valero will present at the Council’s March 15 meeting.”  The City’s website says “The City Council will open the hearing on the appeal on March 15, 2016 for Staff and Applicant presentations. ”

The appearance to the public was that staff, in full support of Valero’s proposal and in opposition to the Planning Commission’s denial of the project, was engineering a pro-Valero opening night at City Council, giving voice ONLY to itself and Valero.  This may not have been the case.

The Planning Commission had not taken formal action to name a representative to speak at the hearings until last night. So it may have been due to an abundance of procedural caution that the City failed to name the Commission as a presenter on the 15th.

At any rate, it is a welcome bit of news that Chair Dean will be allowed to speak on that first night of hearings.  It is only right that the Commission’s views get a hearing as Council members’ deliberate.

Benicians for a Safe and Healthy Community, Crude By Rail, Environmental review, Public Health, Public permitting, Public Safety, Valero Benicia Refinery, Valero Crude By Rail

2014-2016 Comments on Valero Crude by Rail by Benicians for a Safe and Healthy Community

By Roger Straw, March 10, 2016

Formal comments on Valero Crude by Rail by Benicians for a Safe and Healthy Community

I have been asked to make it easier for people to access the several important contributions made by Benicians for a Safe and Healthy Community (BSHC).

BSHC is an informal group of Benicia residents who first gathered in January of 2014 to oppose Valero’s dirty and dangerous Crude By Rail proposal.  At each step along the way, BSHC has contributed significant public comments on the City of Benicia’s environmental review. See below:

 

Benicia City Council, Crude By Rail, Public permitting, Valero Benicia Refinery, Valero Crude By Rail

Benicia City Council to begin hearings on March 15; Public comment scheduled for April 4

By Roger Straw, March 9, 2016

Benicia City Council to begin hearings on March 15; Public comment scheduled for April 4

public notice_Page_1An alert resident here in Benicia sent me a City mailer yesterday announcing plans for the City Council’s consideration of Valero’s appeal of the Planning Commission’s unanimous denial of Valero Crude by Rail.

The mailer gives a Hearing date of March 15, 2016, and states, “Staff presentations and Valero presentations will take place on March 15, 2015. Public comment time will not happen until April 4, 2016.” Responding to my inquiry this morning, the City confirmed these dates and procedures.

As of this writing, the general public has not yet been notified.  The mailer was sent to residents within 500 feet of the proposed crude by rail project, and arrived in the mail on Monday, March 7.  (The resident who sent me the mailer lives farther than 500 feet, so the City may have distributed the mailer to a larger “blast zone” radius.)

The City is required by statute to consider an appeal at the first regularly scheduled meeting following receipt of the appeal by 14 or more days, therefore at the March 15 Council meeting.  (See Benicia Municipal Code 1.44.40.B and 1.44.90.)  This would explain why staff is going ahead with presentations on March 15.

Even so, it will be difficult on this schedule for Council members to familiarize themselves with the huge number of reports and analyses in order to make an informed decision.  It seems likely that someone will ask the City for more time.

Here is a scanned copy of the City’s mailer.

Written public comments are encouraged now!  Send your thoughts to the City Council by email directed to Amy Million, Principal Planner, Benicia Community Development Department: amillion@ci.benicia.ca.us. You may also send your letter Amy Million by mail to 250 East L Street, Benicia, CA 94510, or by Fax: (707) 747-1637.

And mark your calendar now, so you don’t forget.  Please plan to attend on Tuesday, March 15 for the presentations, and again on Monday, April 4.  All meetings will be held at 7:00 p.m. in City Hall Council Chamber, 250 East, L Street, Benicia.