Benicia News: Rose Estates public comment opens & who pays for Valero redevelopment?

Monica Vaughan, Laura Lopez Gonzalez

— 4 min read
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Benicia News: Rose Estates public comment opens & who pays for Valero redevelopment?
A visual rendering of Rose Estates development proposed on the Benicia hills between East 2nd Street and Lake Herman Road.

Long time, no see, hey? 

We set out to fill a gap in local, original reporting here in Benicia with this newsletter. And then, unexpectedly, we spent the last several months building much more. It's been a blur of meetings, business filings, considering grant applications, and conversations with people who believe Benicia deserves a strong local journalism ecosystem. While that's exciting, it also pulled our small team away from the steady drumbeat of reporting. So, after a brief detour into the glamorous world of startup spreadsheets, we're back — with a lot of catching up to do.

Rose Estates Update: Public Comments open for housing development 

A housing development is proposed in Benicia’s rolling golden hills, northeast of the Valero lands and downslope from a former toxic landfill.

Rose Estates, as currently designed, would bring 1,440 single-family homes and 180 multifamily residential units – including hundreds of affordable units. It also includes retail and commercial development, parks and open space. The development would occupy a 527-acre stretch of land between Lake Herman Road and East 2nd Street, surrounding the city’s Water Treatment Plant. 

The Benicia Planning Commission will take public comments at a meeting later today about what should be considered in the required environmental impact report. Comments can also be submitted via email to JHade@ci.benicia.ca.us by 5 p.m. on July 24. 

The application was filed under provisions of the builders' remedy, a state law that limits cities’ zoning authority if a proposal includes affordable housing.

The Seeno family is behind the project – homebuilders with a long and storied record in the Bay Area. The applicant is WCHB Development LLC, an umbrella company for West Coast Home Builders, Inc. of which Albert D. Seeno, Jr. is the president. Albert and Thomas Seeno are currently in court in Nevada, where the housing developers sued the state of Nevada for $1.5 billion after regulators blocked a proposed mini-city there. Their names also appeared in recent local headlines regarding the FBI raid of Contra Costa County’s assessor. Subpoenas sought records tied to property assessments involving the Seenos, according to Mercury News.  

Residents, including former mayor Jerry Hayes, have already raised environmental health concerns about the proposed Rose Estates development’s proximity to a former toxic waste dump, set back on the other side of Lake Herman Road, outside Benicia city limits.

The Panoche Facility is a hazardous waste landfill that accepted material from Exxon Mobil Corporation and other companies that included petroleum sludge, oily slurries and solvents from 1968 to 1986. The site is privately managed as a postclosure facility with oversight from the state Department of Toxic Substances Control (DTSC). Waste and contaminated soils are buried on site, and hazardous substances are present in the soil, soil vapor and groundwater, and it requires ongoing maintenance and monitoring, including groundwater treatment, according to DTSC documents.

Valero contractor Signature Development Group releases preliminary plans to for refinery

A Signature Development Group rendering of the retail space currently proposed at the intersection of Park and Bayshore roads. (Signature Development Group)

Valero's redevelopment partner, Signature Development Group, is proposing up to 3,500 homes, and 3 million square feet of industrial space, shops, parks, and trails for the former refinery site and buffer lands — and could submit a formal application as early as this fall.

To help pay for roads, utilities, and parks, Signature is proposing a Community Facilities District, which would levy special property taxes only on future property owners within the redevelopment area. The Benicia Bridge obtained Signature's previously unpublished pre-application documents, offering the clearest look yet at the company's vision for the refinery's future. Take a look.

Quote of the week:

“It will take another 15 years to restore Benicia's road system to a good overall condition, the same condition as 2001.”

— City Manager Mario Guilani, via this week’s “City of Benicia This Week” newsletter. Check here to see when your street might get fixed.

On the calendar:

  • Today, July 16, 6 pm: The Planning Commission will meet at City Hall to review land use and development matters. This meeting includes the Rose Estates Mixed-Use Project Environmental Impact Report (EIR) public scoping session, where the public can comment on what environmental issues should be studied as part of the EIR. 
  • Tuesday, July 21, 6 pm: City Council Meeting at City Hall.
    • Decision to place ballot measures creating a City Charter and new Property Transfer Tax on the upcoming November election ballot. 
    • Decision to place business license tax updates on the ballot. 
    • Awarding a construction contract to improve infrastructure at the “Scout Property” on East 4th and East L streets to prepare for an affordable housing project.
  • August 1st is the deadline to be part of the first wave of Californians to take advantage of the state’s first-in-the-nation Delete Act to require data brokers to delete their data. You can submit your request via the Delete Request and Opt-out Platform (DROP), run by state agency CalPrivacy. Find out more, including what data brokers collect, via The Mercury News.

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