Over the next few years you are going to be seeing and hearing a lot regarding housing, not just in California but also right here in Benicia. In fact, several of the conversations are happening now as we see the first ‘streamlined housing’ developments moving forward under Senate Bill (SB) 35 (See the City’s Planning Division website for more information on these two projects and SB 35 in general at https://www.ci.benicia.ca.us/planning.) 

 

The Governor also recently signed SB 9, despite pressure from cities, including Benicia, to not sign it but instead allow for some revisions to give back some control to local communities. The supporters of housing bills like SB 9 and SB 35 would argue that they have only come about because communities have blocked the ability for new housing and helped create the current housing crisis. 

 

Either way, we (the City) find ourselves in a very challenging position…and it will only get more challenging. On one hand, we have these new laws limiting local control. Recent court decisions emanating from Berkeley (see article here) as well as San Mateo (see article here) have demonstrated that all three branches of our state government (legislative, executive and judicial) are solidly behind these laws. In fact, the Governor’s office stated, regarding the San Mateo decision, “The court’s decision protects our ability to hold local governments to account and ensures that families throughout California won’t suffer when those same local leaders refuse to do their part to approve new housing.”

 

On the other hand, we have neighbors and communities very rightly upset over the loss of local control of planning and growth. While it could be argued that at times neighborhoods and communities are simply obstinate over not wanting change, most have serious concerns about the outcomes of projects and their impacts as well as the loss of impactful opportunities for community input through this legislation. 

In contrast to legislation that reduces local control, the City of Benicia is currently working in partnership with the community to enable new housing opportunity in the East Fifth Street and Military East area, our Eastern Gateway. Our work on the Eastern Gateway Study began about a year ago. Since that time, many community members have embraced the idea of new housing in the area while offering comments on how to ensure compatibility with Benicia’s scale and aesthetics and address potential neighborhood impacts, such as parking. The resulting proposal for the area reflects the vision and priorities developed through this process.

Many participants have also expressed a desire to age in their hometown, to see their children return the community as adults, and to welcome those who are just discovering Benicia for the first time. We often hear about housing obstacles, notably the cost of housing. The data bears this out, especially over the past year: both Redfin.com and Rentcafe.com report an 11% increase in home prices and rents for Benicia from August 2020 to August 2021. While these are not official data, they point to a significant increase in housing costs. In contrast, for the 2020 calendar year, Benicia reported a total of eight new housing units; of which the majority were accessory dwelling units. While each new unit is important and significant, the rate of new housing production does not match the need for housing in our community.

 

I suspect those from all perspectives could agree that the State legislation has many flaws and is, just frankly, very difficult to interpret. This leaves local jurisdictions holding the bag of course; stuck between poorly crafted legislation with a noble purpose and strong support and, on the other side, the community members, many of whom support increased housing opportunities, but upset over the lack of community process.

 

And now let’s add one more challenge to this issue. You will find, further down in this newsletter, an article regarding the Regional Housing Needs Allocation (RHNA) and our update to the General Plan Housing Element. Bottom line here is that over this next 8-year cycle Benicia is going to need to find a way to allow housing opportunities for 750 units of housing (at various levels of affordability).  It’s important to note that it does not require us to build the units, but we do need to have legitimate avenues (through our zoning and policy) to allow for that number to be built. In the past the State was, perhaps, less vigorous in holding cities accountable to realistically creating opportunities. Those days are gone.

 

While the City is in a very challenging position, what I will promise to you is that we will do our very best to be transparent, open to conversations, and always doing our best to serve our community within the boundaries of the law. A couple ways you can see that are through the information we are putting on the websites (specific pages for each SB35 project, the Housing Element, etc.), our community engagement (holding community stakeholder meetings and informational meetings), as well as our efforts to redraft and tighten up our Objective Planning Standards (which are one of our limited ways of maintaining some local control). While objective standards exist in the General Plan, historic conservation plans and the municipal code, additional objective standards that are tailored in response to these State laws to address new multifamily housing can be found here: https://www.ci.benicia.ca.us/objectivestandards

 

I would like to take a moment to thank our Planning Division staff for their dedication in these challenging times, as well as those community members who are involved, speaking up, and being thoughtful and patient partners as we move into this new territory.

Thank you for your interest in the City of Benicia This Week! If you enjoy reading this weekly message, please share and encourage your friends, family, and coworkers to subscribe or text jointhisweek to 22828 (messaging and data rates may apply).