What should Morro Bay do with power plant site? Anything but a battery plant, residents say

About 40 people filed into the Veterans Memorial Building on Tuesday night to discuss the future of the decommissioned Morro Bay power plant site.

Most of them agreed on one thing: They don’t want a battery plant to replace it.

In 2019, Texas-based energy company Vistra Corp. applied to build a 24-acre, 600-megawatt battery storage facility on the property at 1290 Embarcadero. The Morro Bay Power Plant closed in 2014 and has sat vacant ever since.

The city partnered with Rincon Consultants to design a master plan that creates guidelines for development on the 107-acre property, according to Morro Bay planning manager Cindy Jacinth.

Vistra Corp. gets to decide who builds what on the remaining 83 acres of the property, but future development must comply with the master plan, according to Jacinth.

City and Rincon staff presented a draft of the master plan to the community Tuesday night. During public comment, multiple community members said they oppose the battery plant and asked the city to pause development of the master plan until after the November election — when voters will weigh in on a ballot measure designed to block the project.

The measure aims to freeze the land use designation of the Morro Bay Power Plant property as commercial-recreational fishing and visitor-serving commercial, which would allow developments including hotels, shops and restaurants.

This could prevent the City Council from approving the battery plant, as the project would then not align with the property’s designated land use, according to supporters of the ballot measure.

The city is concurrently working on an environmental impact report for the proposed battery plant project, which will be released to the public in about a month, according to Jacinth.

The public will have 60 days to review the environmental impact report before it is presented to the Planning Commission, she said.

Community asks for public trails, education center on power plant site

The city circulated a survey at the start of the year to receive input from the community for the site, which collected 619 responses, according to Rincon consultant Ryan Russell.

Based on that survey and other responses gathered during public outreach, Morro Bay residents want development on the property to include public open spaces, an education center, infrastructure to support the commercial fishing industry, strategic retail and commercial uses, along with improved parking and traffic circulation, Russell said.

Survey respondents overwhelmingly did not support industrial uses on the site, especially the proposed battery plant, he said.

The primary goals of the master plan are to establish an overall land use vision for the property, improve circulation in the Embarcadero area, improve pedestrian connections and to serve as a guide during phase two of the master plan process, Russell said.

The draft master plan divided the property into five areas.

The first was the Embarcadero area, which the plan envisions as “a vibrant northern Embarcadero featuring a mix of commercial uses that prioritize creating pedestrian connections and open spaces,” Russell said. This could include pathways and viewing areas, retail, restaurants and educational opportunities for local history and wildlife.

The former tank farm area on the power plant site is polluted, which limits development there to industrial projects, Russell said.

That portion of land is contaminated with total petroleum hydrocarbons (TPHs), which are fuel oils burned to generate electricity, as well as polycyclic aromatic hydrocarbons, which are found in TPHs, according to a 2022 report from the California Department of Toxic Substances Control.

The plot also contains pollution from metals, pesticides and volatile organic compounds, the state agency found.

Unless the pollution is cleaned up, the former tank farm site can only be safely used for industrial or commercial purposes, the state agency said.

That is where Vistra Corp. applied to build the battery plant.

The power plant building area, which currently houses the animal protection organization Pacific Wildlife Care, can be transformed into infrastructure that supports retail and the commercial fishing industry, Russel said.

Scientists couldn’t test soil under the power plant building at the center of the property, so they do not know if that portion of land is contaminated. However, the state’s toxic substances control agency did not detect harmful levels of pollution on other parts of the property.

Meanwhile, the hillside on Scott Street could include housing and open space with benches and lookout points, Russell said.

Finally, the Morro Creek and Lila Keiser Park area presents opportunities for traffic circulation improvements, habitat restoration and preservation around the creek, while upgrading the existing park, according to Russell.

Community rejects battery plant, asks for more detailed report

Numerous speakers at public comment suggested the city postpone further development of the master plan until after voters weigh in on the November ballot measure designed to block the battery plant project.

“I think this is putting the cart before the horse,” Morro Bay resident Nicole Dorfman said.

Dorfman preferred that Vistra Corp. sell the property to someone who wants to clean up the pollution and develop the land into “thriving parts of the community,” she said.

“I can imagine there are a lot of people who would want their hands on what could be an incredible, beautiful, thriving area on the California Coast,” she said.

Morro Bay resident Betsy Gaudette-Cross collected signatures for the ballot measure opposing changes to zoning. When she went door-to-door to talk to voters, an overwhelming majority of people opposed the battery plant, she said.

“Why would we go against the citizens of Morro Bay when we’re the ones who have to live here?” she said.

According to Jacinth, including the potential for an industrial project like the battery plant in the master plan does not mean the city is required to build one. If the ballot measure passes and freezes the land use of the property, it would override the master plan, she said.

The city will hold another public meeting to discuss the master plan on March 27, Jacinth said.

During the discussion, Morro Bay planning commissioners asked that the next draft of the master plan include more information about the cultural and environmental history of the property, along with information about flood and storm risks.

“I think you guys can do better,” commissioner Bill Roschen said. “I think you need to focus. I think the community will not accept anything less than a thoughtful, complete understanding to move forward.”

Commissioner Asia King suggested the plan prioritize infrastructure that can withstand climate change.

She said future development should “prioritize our natural environment, either as it has been in the past or what’s more resilient and sustainable going forward in the face of changing climate.”