The City Council will rehear the decision to appeal or deny the emergency demolition permit for the Foundry and Office buildings tonight.
(File photo)

The Benicia City Council is back in session tonight, and topics like an emergency demolition approval or denial and possible changes to the Industrial Park Transportation and Employment Center Plan will be on the agenda for this evening’s meeting.
The saga of the emergency demolition permit for the Foundry and Office Buildings at 670 and 720 East H streets will continue tonight. The buildings were once the headquarters of the Pacific Mail Steamship Company beginning in the 1850s and were designated as historical landmarks in the city in 1993. By the 2000s, however, the buildings took on a more dilapidated appearance and were subjectd to numerous acts of vandalism. In 2006, property owner AMPORTS submitted a design review permit application for the demolition of the buildings, but it was denied by the Historic Preservation Review Commission. Ten years later, AMPORTS filed an emergency demolition permit which was appealed by the HPRc and brought to the Building Code Board of Appeals in February 2017, resulting in a split 1-1 vote. The case was brought to the council in March, which resulted in a 3-2 vote to uphold the appeal of the denial for the demolition. The following month, the council adopted a resolution of denial. AMPORTS attorney Dana Dean submitted a request for rehearing of the demolition. The city and AMPORTS agreed to stay the rehearing request, as both parties agreed pursued mediation would resolve the issue without any problems. The council would approve AMPORTS’ request to reschedule their rehearing to Oct. 17  and would work with staff to gather additional information. When the date rolled around, AMPORTS again requested to reschedule the rehearing so more information could be gathered and a final decision on the issue could be reached.*   The staff is recommending the council direct staff to retain a third party to mediate issues amongst parties involved, prepare and file pleadings to seek and secure a court-ordered administrative inspection warrant, think about upholding the appeal and deny the emergency demolition permit.
In other matters, the council will consider amending the Industrial Park’s Transportation and Employment Center (TEC) plan. In March 2016, the council adopted changes to the TEC. Concord company West Coast Home Builders (WCHB) filed a petition for writ of mandate setting aside the certification of the city’s TEC plan’s Initial Study/Mitigated Negative Declaration and adoption of the TEC plan on June 2. The amendment being proposed pertains to conceptual streetscape improvement with minor edits to clarify some of the text.
The council will also be voting to award Community Development Block Grant funding to Benicia Housing Authority for the 2017-18 fiscal year.
The council will meet at 6:30 p.m. tonight in a closed session to discuss legal matters. The regular meeting will start at 7 in the Council Chambers at City Hall, located at 250 East L St.
A live stream of the council meeting can also be found online at ci.benicia.ca.us/agendas.

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