Planning Commission reconvenes for more comments
A PLANNING COMMISSION HEARING on the environmental impact report for Valero’s proposal to bring crude oil by rail to its Benicia refinery will continue Thursday.
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In previous portions of the hearing that took place in July and August in front of the commission, some commented on their support and others registered their disapproval of the project itself and of Valero Benicia Refinery’s operations in general.
Proponents have cited the refinery’s safety record and contributions to the community as well as the project’s ability to offer temporary construction jobs while also adding jobs to Valero’s operation.
Opponents have said they worry about derailed trains that could lead to oil spills or explosions, since the refinery has said the crude would come from North American sources, and that locomotive emissions as the trains travel uprail from Benicia wouldn’t be mitigated the way emissions within the city would be, because the crude brought by rail car would reduce the oil brought in by ship.
The project would extend existing Union Pacific Railroad lines 8,800 feet into refinery property; would modify or add to the refinery infrastructure; and would allow the refinery to accept up to 100 tank cars of crude oil a day in two 50-car trains that would enter refinery property on an existing rail spur that crosses Park Road.
Crude would be pumped into existing oil storage tanks by a new offloading pipeline that would connect to existing piping on the property.
Benicia is accepting public comment on the DEIR through Monday at the Community Development Department at City Hall.
Before resuming the public hearing on the draft environmental impact report on the crude-by-rail project, the commission will hear a request for a use permit to open a preschool on East Second Street.
Parisa LoBianco, representing Starlight School, and property owner Melanie Hurley are asking for two use permits for 835 East Second St.
One would let them open the preschool for up to 15 children between the ages of 2.9 years and 6 years old. The second request is to reduce requirements for off-street parking so the driveway and courtyard on the north side of the building could be used as a play area.
Principal Planner Amy Million’s report on the requests said the preschool would operate from 8 a.m. to 5 p.m. Mondays through Fridays.
California’s Community Care Licensing Division regulates thresholds for outdoor space, the number of children allowed and the number of teachers needed, Million wrote.
Currently, the building has two residential units and two commercial units, and under city code would be required to have two off-street parking spaces, she wrote.
She explained that the Downtown Mixed Use Master Plan (DMUMP) “is silent on the ability of obtaining a Use Permit for reduction of parking spaces.”
However, the city’s zoning ordinance allows the granting of a use permit to reduce those spaces to less than what normally would be required, she wrote, given certain conditions.
“It is within the authority of the Planning Commission to make determinations such as this,” Million wrote.
She is recommending approval, subject to certain conditions, including compliance with the city’s sign ordinance, restricting employee parking and having parents sign a form acknowledging parking restrictions.
In addition, she is recommending that East Second Street near the building be designated a loading zone for the dropoff and pickup of the children.
To accommodate the preschool request as well as to give ample time for speakers who want to address the Valero project, the Planning Commission meeting will start at 6 p.m. Thursday in the Council Chamber of City Hall, 250 East L St.
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