By Citizens For Estero Bay Preservation
Morro Bay Citizens love our town and we have a vision.
We are at the edge of beautiful Estero Bay, which has evolved from a major port created in 1929 that shipped crude oil to refineries in San Francisco.
The shipping stopped in 1999 when Chevron closed the terminal. Subsequently the 3000-plus acres have been cleared of the tanks and pipelines and will soon become a County park.
Other “Brownfields” in Morro Bay have been cleaned up as well. The Navy Jet Fuel Tanks on Panorama Drive, and the Texaco oil distribution plant on Main Street, to name two.
Now the last remaining “Brownfield” is the abandoned Power Plant property, located next to the Harbor.
The Citizens of Morro Bay want to get that last “Brownfield” retired. The Vision to do this is outlined in the document “Plan Morro Bay,” which is our General Plan.
This multi-page document was developed by residents, City Staff and the staff of the California Coastal Commission over a multi-year process.
To insure that the Citizen’s vision of the Harbor are carried out, an Initiative was passed and adopted by the City. The initiative placed a Measure on the November ballot, Measure A-24.
What is Morro Bay’s Measure A-24? From the Text of the Initiative:
“A-24 is a citizens initiative to insure that the Land Use of certain areas near the Harbor shall not be changed except by a majority of Morro Bay Voters at a regular or special election from the Adopted Zoning Map of November 2022.”
The Adopted Zoning Map is part of the adopted 2021 General Plan that was developed over 5 years. The plan included extensive public outreach in creating this Plan that encompasses community values and future vision of Morro Bay.
The reasons for this initiative are:
1. To protect the natural beauty, sensitivity and intrinsic value of our waterfront and Embarcadero.
2. To prevent the visual and physical degradation of our environment.
3. To promote the health and safety of residents, tourists, boaters, and wildlife habitat.
4. To provide current levels of coastal access to our California Historical Landmark, Morro Rock, the Harbor and surrounding beaches.
5. To preserve Morro Bay as a world-renowned desirable tourist destination.
The backers of Measure A-24 are local citizens and all contributions have been collected locally. Join our vision for Morro Bay and vote YES on A-24.
Citizens For Estero Bay Preservation is a citizens group that wrote Measure A-24, collected signatures to qualify it for the ballot. See: www.preserveesterobay.com for more information.