Morro Bay voters appeared to be speaking loud and clear on Nov. 5 — they do want a say in whether or not a giant Battery Energy Storage System (BESS) gets built in the middle of town.
On Election Night, counting just mail-in votes, A-24 had 2,209 “Yes” votes (59.13%), and 1,527 “No” votes (40.87%), according to “First Report” results posted online by the County Clerk.
The tally was far from over, but with that healthy of a lead, A-24 looks like it will be approved. According to the First Report, 3,892 votes had been received and counted out of a total of 8,182 registered voters (46.57%).
Measure A-24 was written and promoted by a citizen’s group, “Estero Bay Preservation” and opposed by another group “Citizens Opposed to Measure A-24” making the campaign for the initiative a real down-home squabble among neighbors and friends.
The Preservation folks said they didn’t want the decision on this huge project to be made solely by five city council people, and the residents should have a say in whether it is built.
Yes or no decisions are reserved for elected officials, however, other aspects of this complicated project like zoning changes can be usurped by voters. A-24 was directed at the zoning of the power plant, which got up-zoned with the General Plan update to “Commercial/Visitor-Serving” from the “Industrial” zoning it had been since at least the 1950s and ‘60s, when the power plant replaced a Navy base.
Opponents argued this was a badly written measure that would hamper anyone’s ability to do a redevelopment in the affected area — from Beach Street out to Morro Rock.
They also argued that it would force Vistra to bypass Morro Bay and seek permits from the California Energy Commission, under Assembly Bill 205.
Both sides of this argument had valid points but Vistra sprang a Halloween surprise on Oct. 28, when it notified the City it was pausing their review and going to the CEC. The company said it planned to submit an application to the CEC by the end of the year.
With thousands of votes left to count countywide, the vote totals reported here are what was announced on Election Night. Elections in SLO County traditionally aren’t certified by Supervisors until several weeks after the election, with Morro Bay City Council following suit at a meeting in early December.
Morro Bay’s City Council elections weren’t on the ballot, as Mayor Carla Wixom was unopposed for her second term, and new councilmembers Jeff Eckles and Bill Luffee were also unopposed.
They replace outgoing councilmembers Laurel Barton and Jen Ford, neither sought re-election. The new council members will take office in early December.
