■ Panel to discuss compliance with California mandates

Benicia City Council may adopt one of its seven state-mandated General Plan documents Tuesday as it looks at the Housing Element that describes housing needs in Benicia and how the city addresses those needs.

In addition, it will decide Tuesday whether to introduce an ordinance for transitional housing, supportive housing and emergency homeless shelters, a step toward compliance with the California Housing Accountability Act.

Dan Marks, the city’s interim community development director, wrote Oct. 21 that an initial study of the Housing Element looked at how it might affect the environment, and he’s recommending the Council adopt the negative declaration filed with the State Clearinghouse and circulated publicly from Aug. 29 to Sept. 29.

A public workshop May 15 sought community comment; in addition, city employees added information to Benicia’s website and distributed fliers at City Hall, Benicia Public Library and during the Benicia Certified Farmers Market.

The Planning Commission considered the topic Oct. 9 and approved endorsement, with minor modifications.
Mary Eble, executive director of the North Bay Housing Coaltion, Napa, asked Benicia to encourage programs that would support the North Bay Regional Center and North Bay Housing Coalitions efforts to provide affordable housing to those with developmental disabilities.

Attorney Dana Dean, representing AMPORTS, the company that operates the Port of Benicia, asked the city to remove vacant housing sites in the Arsenal Historic District from the list of places the city might use to meet its allocation needs; to clarify sections that might be misinterpreted; to explain how port noise could affect those living nearby; to add more information about the two active toxic substances cleanup sites in Benicia; and to change references to live-work to work-live to align with the city’s own ordinances.

Principal Planner Amy Million replied Oct. 8 that four vacant housing sites in the Arsenal are in an existing zoning district that permits single and multi-family homes. Million wrote that none of the vacant sites is within the areas designated by the state as cleanup sites and said California Environmental Quality Act review didn’t address noise of the port affecting development, since the act is focused on how the environment, not the development, is affected.

Million also wrote that the Lower Arsenal sites aren’t under consideration for emergency shelters, since discretionary review would be required.

Marks wrote that only minor revisions were needed to update the city’s Housing Element, such as incorporating new data on income levels. However, much of the document continues the work of the 2007-14 Housing Element, he added.

According to the Association of Bay Area Governments’ regional housing needs allocation, Benicia needs 94 units for families with a “very low” median income level, of less than $41,300; 54 units for low-income households, making between $45,500 and $65,000 annually; 56 units for those who earn a moderate $69,350 to $99,100 a year; and 123 for those who make more.

The required units have dropped to 327 from the previous document, when the city needed to assure there was space for 532 new units, Marks wrote.

“A common misconception is that the city must find a way to ensure these units are built,” he wrote. “Instead the city must show that there are sufficient sites under the city’s policies and zoning to accommodate these units if the market exists to build them.”

Among other changes, the new Housing Element adds a program to assure the city of an adequate water supply; recommends amending General Commercial zoning to allow more types of residences; provides for annual inventories of under-used or vacant lots; removes references to allowing emergency shelters by right in certain zoning districts; notes that Benicia plans to amend its zoning codes to allow transitional and supportive housing; examines ways to increase accommodation of those with disabilities; deletes a call for standard specifications for seismic retrofitting; continues the city’s program of providing information on multiple topics at the planning counter and Community Development Department; and deletes using the “GreenPoint Rated” certification system for sustainable construction.

City Manager Brad Kilger is recommending the Council introduce on first reading an ordinance that would provide for transitional housing, supportive housing and emergency homeless shelters, so Benicia would comply with the California Housing Accountability Act.

“State law does not require the city to construct an emergency shelter, and no shelter is currently proposed,” Kilger said.

However, they must be permitted in any district that has residential uses, and must be subject to the same restrictions as other housing types, he wrote.

In addition, the proposed zoning for emergency shelters would be within a quarter mile of East and West Military between West K Street and East Seventh Street, except for single-family residential and open-space zones and the land within the Downtown Mixed Use Master Plan District; and within a quarter mile of Adams Street excluding all districts except for office commercial and general commercial zones.

The Planning Commission’s June 12 workshop helped created a preliminary framework for the ordinance, including an application process, requirements and development standards. The panel recommended removing limited industrial as a zone for emergency shelters, and the removal of design review requirements for emergency shelters in otherwise eligible zones except the city’s historic districts.

The commissioners recommended adding city-owned land.

The Council will consider introducing another ordinance that would provide for reasonable housing accommodation for those with disabilities, also in compliance with state codes.

In other business, Mayor Elizabeth Patterson will read a proclamation declaring Benicia a Purple Heart City.

Vallejo is seeking a similar designation, and several officials in both cities are seeking designation of Interstate 780 as a Purple Heart Highway and are asking Assemblymember Susan Bonilla’s help. The Concord Democrat represents Benicia in the state Assembly.

In other matters before the Council, the panel will consider accepting:

• A $101,721 bid from Telstar Instruments, Concord, for replacement of the water treatment plant’s programmable logic controller;

• The city’s October water report, which shows Benicians have reduced water use by 19 percent since January compared to the same period in 2013, or 21.6 percent since March, when the Council asked residents to reduce water use;

• A $422,803.97 water treatment plant influent improvement project built by Spiess Construction Company of Santa Maria;

• Purchase of a permanent restroom at the city’s downtown Little League fields, priced at $76,792.98;

• And a memorandum of understanding with the police mid-managers.

The Council will meet in a closed session at 6 p.m. Tuesday to evaluate City Attorney Heather McLaughlin. The regular meeting will start at 7 p.m. in the Council Chamber of City Hall, 250 East L St.