Council Attends Leadership Academy

Written by Neil Farrell

Neil has been a journalist covering the Estero Bay Area for over 27 years. He’s won numerous journalism awards in several different categories over his career.

January 31, 2025

Morro Bay Councilwoman, Zara Landrum (far left) and Mayor Carla Wixom (fourth from left) and City Manager Yvonne Kimball (at right of the Mayor) pose with the California Energy Commission’s team.

Morro Bay’s City leaders were in Sacramento last week meeting with local State representatives and teams from key state agencies, to advocate for the City’s interests.

According to a news release from City Manager Yvonne Kimball, who also went on the junket, four of five City Council members were able to attend the “leadership academy.”

“Led by Mayor Carla Wixom,” Kimball wrote in the Jan. 23 release, “this delegation includes Council Members Jeff Eckles, Bill Luffee, and Zara Landrum, along with City Manager Yvonne Kimball. Council Member Cyndee Edwards was unable to attend due to an out-of-town funeral.”

The multi-day event gave the council a chance to meet with Assemblywoman Dawn Addis and State Sen. John Laird and state agencies, “focusing on critical issues that are of high importance to the City, including development of large battery storage facilities, housing policies in coastal zones, offshore wind projects, environmental sustainability, disaster response, and funding for local governments.”

Mayor Wixom said, “Those meetings provided an invaluable opportunity to advocate for the needs of Morro Bay. 

“By building strong relationships with State officials, we are ensuring our community’s voice is heard and that we’re at the table for key discussions shaping California’s future.”


Pictured from left are: Councilmen Bill Luffee, and Jeff Eckles, Assemblywoman Dawn Addis and City Manager Yvonne Kimball meet in Addis’ Sacramento office.

The group hit on some key issues when they met with Addis and Laird, as well as the Energy and Coastal Commissions. 

With the Energy Commission, Kimball said, “The delegation advocated for local involvement in the AB 205 process as related to Vistra’s pending Battery Energy Storage System Project; offshore wind projects; and opportunities for potential local resources.”

AB 205 is a 2022 law that gives energy projects, such as Vistra Energy’s proposed battery storage facility at the Morro Bay Power Plant, a permit work-around when faced with local opposition. 

AB 205 allows companies with renewable energy projects to apply with the Energy Commission directly for a permit. The Coastal Commission and State Lands Commission would have significant say in this process, but the City and local jurisdictions would mostly be cut out.


From left are: Councilmen Jeff Eckles, and Bill Luffee, 17th Dist. State Sen. John Laird, Mayor Carla Wixom, and Councilwoman Zara Landrum, meet in the Senator’s office.

Vistra, last October, notified the City that it was “pausing” its BESS Project review by the City and planned to apply to the CEC under AB 205. The company has not yet done this and the project currently sits in limbo.

Meeting with a team from the Coastal Commission, which has jurisdiction over much of the City, including original jurisdiction over half the Embarcadero, they discussed several important issues.

“Conversations,” Kimball said, “centered on collaboration between the two agencies, capacity-building opportunities for the city, and support for local governments. Impacts of state legislation in the coastal zone related to housing and Proposition 4 were also discussed.”

Prop. 4, which was passed by voters in the November 2024 Election and entitled: the “Parks, Environment, Energy, and Water Bond,” authorized the sale of $10 billion in general obligation bonds to be used for safe drinking water projects, wildfire prevention, and “protecting communities and natural lands from climate risks.”

When they met with Addis and Laird, the hot topic was of course the big fire at a Moss Landing battery storage plant owned by Vistra, the same company trying to put a battery facility in Morro Bay.

“Discussions,” Kimball said, “included the City’s legislative agenda, responses to the Moss Landing fire, potential legislation impacting the City, and the volatility of the State budget.”

With four of five council members together in Sacramento, the issue of a potential Brown Act violation is ever present. 

Kimball addressed this, too. “To ensure compliance with the Brown Act, the Mayor and three Council Members were divided into groups with two members attending each meeting with State officials.”

With two days of meetings behind them, the council was slated to attend the League of California Cities’ Mayor and Council Members Academy last Friday. 

“The highly sought-after academy,” Kimball said, “covers legal, financial, and practical fundamentals for city council members. Mayor and council members will return with more knowledge, renewed energy, and actionable next steps to advance the city’s priorities.”

That may be well and good, but the City Council’s next meeting (schedule for Jan. 28) promised to be a doozy after the spectacular and destructive fire on Jan. 16 in Moss Landing at Vistra’s battery plant there (see related story, this issue).

News of the fire, which blew up online and has prompted hundreds of calls and emails to the council from concerned Morro Bay residents, seems to have solidified opposition in town against Vistra’s project.

Assuming Vistra follows through with its move to the CEC, the issue will be how can Morro Bay’s residents participate in this largely-untested process, when it plays itself out at the State Capitol, over 300 miles away?

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