(This is the second of a two-part series. For Part 1, go here.)

Northern Gateway Project

Following discussion of Valero’s Crude-By-Rail Project at Tuesday’s Candidates’ Night forum, moderator Peter Friesen then turned the discussion to another controversial proposal for Benicia: the Northern Gateway development.

The project, brought forth by the Orinda-based company Schwartz Land Development, would construct 900 homes on a vacant lot owned by the Seeno family in the Industrial Park. The Seenos’ company, Seeno Construction, had proposed a plan to build property in that area but withdrew over changing market conditions. The project under the new proposal would contain a mixture of residential, industrial and commercial uses.

The question placed special emphasis on concerns over supplying water to these homes.

Lionel Largaespada felt it was important to continue the conversation on the project.

“What we have is a quandary and an opportunity,” he said. “The quandary is preservation of our history and heritage. The opportunity is to start this renaissance in the Industrial Park. Essentially, a partner has come to us with the opportunity to invest in our community and change our homes.”

He noted that the water issues were part of the conversation too.

Christina Strawbridge reaffirmed that she wants to see the project developed but that it needs to be done correctly.

“I want to see it developed in a smart way that’s trying to enhance our current Industrial Park,” she said. “I’m not for 900 homes out there. I just think that’s too many, it’s disjointed from the community, but I am open to see what we can work out there. It’s our new frontier.”

Steve Young expressed concerns about the project, namely that he did not believe it improved schools or services like the Fire Department.

“(Robert Schwartz) said the kids would go to Robert Semple, which is a good distance away,” he said. “They’d have to go by car, it’s close to the refinery. They’re not going to put in a fire station, they would rely on fire services downtown.”

Young said Schwartz told him the homes would be cheap— $400,000— but he was still concerned about the quality of homes at that price.

Mark Hughes believed that rather than trying to stop the project, the city should be willing to compromise with Schwartz.

“When we have a business that comes to Benicia, I think the first words out of our mouths should be ‘Welcome, thank you for considering our town,’” he said. “We sometimes spend more time trying to figure out why a project won’t work rather than coming up with ways that it can or might work. I’ve gone on record by saying that that 528-acre parcel needs to be built. We need to be smart about it.”

Elizabeth Patterson agreed that smart development was necessary but did not feel the proposed project was a good example of it.

“900 units takes 450-acre feet of water, which costs about $200 an acre-foot which is what we paid for in 2014, and that’s $90,000,” she said. “The city needs to have development that brings added revenues to the city, not to be a drain on our limited revenues.”

Historic preservation

Friesen asked the candidates about what they would do to promote maintenance and preservation of Benicia’s many historic sites and draw in tourists.

Hughes said he was impressed with the historic preservation in the downtown area, but felt work needed to be done in the Arsenal.

“The Commanding Officers’ Quarters: yes, it’s absolutely beautiful, but if you drive around the Arsenal, you’ll see a lot of facilities that are in very, very poor shape,” he said. “I think we’re gonna need to put a lot more attention there.”

Patterson says that she has advocated for looking at benefits of the Mills Act, which provides tax breaks for homeowners in historic districts.

“I want to see that program grow,” she said.

She also felt that the Benicia Historical Society, Benicia State Parks Association and Benicia Historical Museum should collaborate to solve some of the preservation issues.

As a member of Benicia Historical Society, Tom Campbell refuted Patterson’s statement by saying the society does try to work with the groups she mentioned.

“A lot of members of the Benicia Historical Society are also members of the State Parks Association,” he said. “It’s always going to be a priority to try and make the historic district look presentable and be some place that you want to go to that has a destination.”

Largaespada said that Benicia is defined by its history and heritage, and the city should continue to work to reinforce that.

“Preserving that history and heritage needs to remain a focus,” he said. “As a community and council staff, we need to continue to invest in that because it’s an investment in the quality of life.”

George Oakes said when he moved to Benicia, one of the things that drew them there was the mix of old and new elements.

“I’d like to preserve that,” he said. “One of the things I’d like to do as part of the other goal is try to get more retail downtown.”

I”d also like to try and marry First Street with the Arsenal,” he said.

Closing statements
In their final remarks, the candidates summed up their messages. Patterson discussed Benicia being able to seize the future while still retaining its small-town charm. Hughes talked about a need for trust and noted that while he and the mayor have different approaches to leadership, they still care about their community. Largaespada talked about working in the interests of all residents. Oakes expressed a need to help out the Industrial Park and for Benicia citizens to be “stewards of our future.” Strawbridge talked about helping families and doing research on all issues. Young reaffirmed the desire for qualified leadership, and Campbell reaffirmed his support for Benicians’ quality of life and collectively complimented all the candidates.

“In all the elections I’ve been in, this is the best group of candidates we’ve ever had,” Campbell, who has run in five elections since 2001, said. “The voters are gonna have a really hard time picking because they’re all good this time around.”

The televised broadcast of the forum will be shown again at 7 p.m., Monday, Sept. 19 and Wednesday, Sept. 28 on Comcast Channel 27.