MRC Provides Additional Details on Friday's Coke Dust Release; City Responds to Grand Jury Report on Affordable Housing Crisis
Community Warning System was activated 15 minutes after incident; amount of dust released remains unknown. City sees no path toward meeting affordable housing targets
The Martinez Refining Co. has submitted its required 72-hour report on Friday’s petroleum coke dust release — the third such incident since July. The report is generally scarce on details, but it does provide a few interesting nuggets.
The release occurred at about 10:31 a.m. while the refinery was opening “a vessel manway.”
The refinery activated the Contra Costa Community Warning System at 10:46 a.m., roughly 15 minutes after the release. Follow-up communication was made to the Bay Area Air Quality Management District and Contra Costa Health Services staff at 11 a.m., and to CalOSHA at 3 p.m.
Refinery staff immediately responded to the incident by deploying water to suppress the dust and close the manway.
The quantity of dust release is undetermined.
There were no injuries
MRC received 10 inquiries from the public regarding the release.
The investigation into the root cause of the release is ongoing.
Of note, the 15-minute interval between the release and activation of the Community Warning System was a significant improvement over a similar incident on July 11, when MRC came under heavy criticism for waiting over an hour after the coke release to activate the CWS.
MRC will be required to file a follow-up 30-day report on the incident that will be made available on the Contra Costa Health Services Hazardous Materials website: https://cchealth.org/hazmat/
City responds to grand jury report on affordable housing crisis
Martinez, along with every other city in the county, has responded to the findings and recommendations in the Contra Costa County Civil Grand Jury’s Report “Affordable Housing: A Problem Without a Home.” I wrote about the report in this post.
In a letter to the grand jury foreperson, City Manager Michael Chandler wrote:
The housing crisis has become a pressing concern in Martinez and beyond, with far-reaching implications for individuals and communities. Escalating housing costs, coupled with stagnant wages and limited housing supply, have led to an increasing number of individuals and families struggling to secure decent and affordable housing. The lack of accessible housing options has particularly impacted vulnerable populations, including moderate-, low-, and very low-income households; seniors; disabled persons; and individuals experiencing homelessness. As local jurisdictions endeavor to tackle this crisis, they are confronted with the daunting challenge of vying for limited resources and funding. The competition among jurisdictions with diverse capacities and needs often accentuates the difficulty of implementing comprehensive and equitable housing solutions.
While the city at least partially disagreed with some of the grand jury’s findings and rejected some recommendations, it did wholeheartedly agree with a particularly disheartening conclusion from the report: It sees no path to meeting state-mandated regional housing targets, placing the blame on a lack of funding:
Without a dedicated funding source from the State of California or other mechanism to obtain additional funding, most local jurisdictions throughout the State will continue to miss their RHNA targets for very low-, low- and moderate-income households. Units affordable to lower income households require significant subsidies since the cost of construction exceeds the return on investment and there is inadequate funding to support the housing need.
Despite that downbeat assessment, Chandler’s letter emphasized the city’s commitment to “finding viable solutions and collaborating with stakeholders to address the housing needs of the region to the best of our ability.”
The city pointed to the follow strategies it is pursuing to expedite the development of affordable housing:
streamlined review process
reduced or waived fees
engaging faith-based organizations and housing developers on affordable housing development
technical assistance
While the city said that most of the recommendations in the grand jury report (such as reporting affordable housing progress and reviewing zoning policies) have been implemented, it — along with virtually every other city in the county — rejected a recommendation to create a dedicated Affordable Housing Commission consisting “of a multi-disciplinary team of diverse citizens and led by a current, nonelected, city expert in planning.”
Each commission would be charged with providing a community voice in the process and helping to identify and address obstacles that hinder the development of affordable housing projects in their community.
Martinez was among a handful of cities that used nearly identical language in explaining their rationale for rejecting the suggestion “after careful consideration.”
The City appreciates the thoughtful recommendation to create a dedicated Affordable Housing (“AH”) Commission comprised of a multi-disciplinary team of diverse citizens, led by a current, non-elected, city expert in planning. While we acknowledge the potential benefits of such a commission, after careful consideration, we have decided not to pursue its implementation due to the following reasons:
Existing Planning Mechanisms: Our city and county already have established planning mechanisms and committees responsible for addressing affordable housing issues. These existing structures provide platforms for community engagement and collaboration, making the formation of a separate commission redundant and potentially duplicative of efforts.
Resource Constraints: Establishing and maintaining a dedicated AH Commission would require additional financial and administrative resources. At present, the city is already allocating resources to multiple initiatives aimed at addressing affordable housing needs. Adding another commission might spread resources too thin and hinder the efficiency of current efforts.
Efficient Decision-Making: By involving a diverse range of citizens and experts in existing planning and housing committees, we maintain a balanced and inclusive approach. This integration ensures streamlined decision-making processes and comprehensive representation of community interests without creating an additional layer of bureaucracy.
Previous Outreach: Furthermore, jurisdictions conduct community outreach and engagement when preparing the Housing Element to identify and address obstacles that may hinder the development of affordable housing projects in their communities.
The only city that responded positively to the suggestion was Richmond, which said it has already implemented the recommendation in the form of several housing-related boards, including a Housing Advisory Commission. Richmond met 61% of its very low-income housing target for the 2015 to 2020 period, in contrast to several cities in the county, including Martinez, that met zero. See chart below:
Martinez police wear pink during October
Martinez police officers will be wearing a pink patch during the month of October to help raise awareness and show support for those battling breast cancer.
Residents can obtain a pink MPD patch of their own through a cash donation of $10 at the front counter of the police department Monday through Thursday from 9 a.m. to 4 p.m. All proceeds will go toward the fight against breast cancer.
Prepare for eclipse at library
The Martinez Library is hosting a program of crafts and other activities for kids ages 6 to 12 from 3 to 4:30 p.m. Thursday to help prepare for Saturday’s solar eclipse, which will be visible in California and other parts of the western United States. Attendees will receive a pair of eclipse glasses while supplies last. More information about the program is available at the following link: https://tinyurl.com/2u4tpupp
For more information about Saturday’s annular eclipse, go to https://science.nasa.gov/eclipses/future-eclipses/eclipse-2023/where-when/
Interesting that Richmond met 61% of the low-income housing issues but we didn’t. That is very frustrating. Just who are our stakeholders, Craig?