Benicia City Council will consider adopting a master plan, environmental report and program of mitigation monitoring and reporting Tuesday for its longsought urban waterfront project.

Parks and Community Services Director Michael Dotson wrote City Manager Brad Kilger Wednesday that the Urban Waterfront Enhancement and Master Plan (UWEMP) would guide the development in the waterfront park area bounded by First and B streets, the Benicia Marina channel and the Carquinez Strait, including the First Street Green.

The site excludes both A Street parcels and the Southern Pacific Depot, 90 First St., that houses Benicia Main Street.

“An adopted plan has not been in place for a significant piece of the projecty area since it was rezoned by the Waterfront Park Initiative of 2004,” he wrote.

He said the plan and reports before the Council Tuesday has been reviewed by the UWEMP community advisory committee and the Parks, Recreation and Cemetery Commission, both of which recommend adoption.

The Coastal Conservancy has picked up $160,996 of the tab to complete the plan and studies, Dotson wrote. The city supplied staff time and $24,169 of the costs, he wrote.

This would be the latest plan for the city’s coastline near the downtown historic and commercial area.
Benicia originally received approval in 1977 from the Bay Conservation and Development Commission to start several projects in the Waterfront Area between the Fifth Street and First Street peninsulas.

Those projects ranged from building a marina, fishing pier, public boardwalks, commercial buildings and residences as well as pedestrian and bicycle ways, parking areas an overlooks.

Since then, the permit has been amended 34 times, after some of the projects were completed, including marsh restoration, Dotson wrote.

In 1991, the Benicia Urban Waterfront Restoration Plan sought to preserve open space and historical characteristics as well as provide a more comprehensive use of the underused waterfront, Dotson wrote.

That plan included an open space system that would provide pedestrian access to both passive and active recreation sites. The First Street Promenade and Peninsula Pier were built under that plan, he wrote.

In 2004, the Council adopted the Waterfront Park Initiative to change the land designation from commercial zones to open space, and build a park on city land south of B Street between First Street and the Harbormaster’s Office, also excluding the Depot and A Street right of way.

A citizens group formed in 2008 to develop a conceptual plan for the waterfront grew to become a subcommittee of the Parks, Recreation and Cemetery Commission in 2009, the same year the Council approved a concept plan for a plaza south of the Depot that remains in the proposed master plan.

City employees first applied to the Coastal Conservancy for a grant in 2009. That organization approved a grant for the site master plan in 2011, and in 2012, the Council contracted with an agency now called PlaceWorks to lead a consultant team to undertake the work.

The Council also asked employees to organize the community advisory committee, representing community organizations as well as Benicia’s advisory panels.

The master plan calls for an entry plaza at First and B streets with seat walls and public art; an expanded, raised green; a second plaza at the eastern end that has seat walls and more art; a depot plaza; a Bay Trail portion that would run parallel to B Street and a perimeter trail around the green; a boardwalk with guardrail that would follow the historic railroad site, with viewing platforms overlooking wetlands, marshes and the Strait; improved beach access on the southwestern edge of First Street; wider sidewalks and palm trees on the east side of First Street to match the promenade on the west side of the street; removal of pilings from the First Street beach; improved parking on B Street; stormwater rain gardens between B Street and the Bay Trail; interpretive signage; and marsh habitat.

A nonmotorized boat launch, discussed late last year, wasn’t included, Dotson said, because the tide isn’t high enough or often enough to justify the construction. However, removing the pilings and improving the beach would make use of nonmotorized boats safer, he said.

“It was clear that this site is and will continue to be used” by those with nonmotorized boats, Dotson said.
Approving the plan doesn’t get the park built, Dotson wrote.

That has been divided into phases that will be preceded by proposals for state, regional and federal funding he wrote would “effectively leverage city funds.”

He wrote that city employees expect to apply for several grants in 2015 in hopes of getting enough money to start the first phase, design and engineering preparatory work before the city can start applying for necessary permits.

Once that is done, the city would begin the park’s construction started with smaller projects that aren’t related to the raising of the green, Dotson wrote. The third phase would be the bulk of the project, including the raising of the green, restoration of the coastal salt marsh, and construction of other projects. Building of the trainwalk boardwalk would be the final phase of the park project.

The City Council will meet in a closed session at 6 p.m. Oct. 21 to discuss labor and legal matters. The regular meeting will start at 7 p.m. Tuesday in the Council Chamber of City Hall, 250 East L St.