Planned Development Area in Benicia’s Industrial Park – A good or bad thing?

My thanks to all that have responded to my initial blog on January 27^th. I agreed to write a blog not to judge or influence one way of thinking or the other but to achieve one goal. That goal is to try to inform fellow Benicians on things that are going on in this City that may or may not impact their present and future lives. In effect, I am trying to get my fellow Benicians to be more involved in the process of determining how they want this City to function. Remember, Government goes to those that show up. Here is another issue to better understand.

On January 17^th, I attended the City Council Meeting. In that meeting during the Consent Calendar section, normally for items routine in nature not requiring discussion was of the City’s Industrial Park to be a Planned Development Area (PDA) for the next 25 years. That seemed like a pretty big deal and not something routine. Prior to the meeting, I took the time to read the entire proposal and was left with more questions than answers. The morning of the 17^th, I talked with several property owners in the Industrial Park and found they had no knowledge of the issue or of the City’s request for a PDA or for that matter even what a PDA was. It seemed like a public discussion would be a very good idea?

In the Council meeting, Councilman Hughes asked to have the item pulled; that automatically allows for council and public input, for which I am thankful. I addressed the Council and asked several questions but it seemed that neither City Staff nor City Council really knew the answers. My purpose was to get the item delayed so the public could learn of the proposal and we could get our questions answered. The proposal was not something I was against, however, it was something I really believed the citizens of Benicia should understand and have an ability to ask questions before the City Council committed the City to a 25 year agreement.  The proposal, as written, appeared to be a request for a $47M grant to aid in building a bus terminal, a train station, parks, public facilities like daycare center or health clinic, bike and pedestrian paths, an ability to upgrade and improve the infrastructure (roads, utilities, etc.) in addition to building 140 single family residences above commercial buildings all within the Industrial Park. On the surface, all of these additions, except housing, could greatly improve the Industrial Park but one wonders at what cost and I do not mean just financial cost. My questions were simple; what were the terms and conditions the City must accept in return for these funds? Was it true that single family housing is being proposed to be built in the Industrial park? Was it true that if this area was adopted as a PDA that no other housing growth could occur outside of the PDA area for a period of 25 years? What is the difference between a PDA and a Redevelopment Agency; can the same fate happen to PDA i.e., can funding be arbitrarily pulled? A question I did not ask but want to understand is; the property owned by Seeno is included in this PDA. This property will now be subject to whatever rules and regulations are required by the PDA. What are the implications to that project? Is it more or less favorable that it will ever be built given this new condition? These questions are noteworthy because a PDA can be 100 or more acres. If it impacts this area negatively, then why include it in the PDA? I strongly believe that development of the Seeno property is critical for the long term viability of Benicia from a tax / revenue / jobs perspective.

The reaction to the request to delay was interesting. First, Charlie Knox, Public Works Director, admitted that the Staff Report could have been written more clearly to confirm this was a request to declare the area not a grant request. The grant process for the $47M would come after the request is approved as a Planned Development Area. Councilman Hughes asked whether the proposal could be delayed. He did not get a clear answer from Mr. Knox until he strongly suggested a delay was appropriate. At that time, he was advised by Mr. Knox that the application period was going to close at the end of January and the request could not be delayed. One wonders why this request was not presented to the City Council earlier to allow sufficient time to explore answers to the many questions generated by the Staff Report. The most telling response was that of the City Manager, Mr. Kilger, who expressed intense frustration saying that he believed he was asked to generate revenue to improve the Industrial Park and then he felt he was being admonished, by whomever he felt he was admonished by, when doing so. That was most certainly not the intent of the request for a delay. The intent was to make sure the Citizens of Benicia knew what our City Manager and City Staff were proposing, that they clearly understood the ramifications both negative and positive, and if it still looked like it was in Benicia’s best interest to throw our wholehearted support to making it happen. However, if the answers were to the contrary, the City should be able to make a decision not to play if we must abide by someone other than Benicia’s rules.

Mr. Kilger assured the Council that the City retained control over the PDA and was not subordinating the City’s sovereignty to another agency (my words not his but the drift is there). However, in the same breath, he admitted if the City didn’t play by their rules we wouldn’t get the money. I find those two statements to be in direct conflict with each other. What if the grant conditions are not in the City’s best interest, are we still bound by this agreement or can we withdraw? As an aside, does anyone know that on September 3, 2008, 145 acres of the downtown area roughly 1 block on each side of First Street from Military to the bay was declared a PDA? This also was approved by Council as a Consent Calendar item, no discussion. So far, no grants have been approved for this area so we have no way of knowing grant terms and conditions.

So what is the truth? Time will tell since the City Council voted 4 to 1 to approve the resolution thereby submitting the application for a PDA; Councilman Hughes was the dissenting vote. I understand that we must have a planning model in order to properly build infrastructure and support systems. My hope and prayer is that the powers to be respect the freedoms we all enjoy and do not establish conditions that violate our ability for self-determination nor compromise our rights to pursue private property ownership wherever and in whatever form we choose.

I think we should have a public forum with which questions can be presented and answers can be offered on this and several other issues our City is addressing. What do you think? Either way, let your City Council know, attend Council meetings, ask questions and hold our elected representatives accountable for their decisions.

Dennis Lowry