Vistra, the company proposing the battery energy storage system (BESS) project in Morro Bay, has decided to pause its application through the city in an effort to gain state approval first.
“Our main message has been that A-24 will not stop the battery project. Vistra can go to the state, which is now what they’ve done, and they have taken the hands out of our city council and it’s not up to us anymore,” said Marlys McPherson, Morro Bay Citizens Opposed to Measure A-24 Principal Officer.
Vistra is now taking advantage of Assembly Bill 205. Passed back in 2022, it allows energy companies to bypass local jurisdictions like city councils.
On the ballot this November is Measure A-24. If passed, it would give voters a say in any land use changes for certain properties along the waterfront, including the old power plant building where Vistra's proposed BESS facility would be located.
“Through the State of California, through the Assembly, they wrote a law that says any time an energy project wants to get done in California, they can go to a city and ignore local land use plans and local citizens and get a permit in Sacramento,” said Barry Branin, Measure A-24 proponent.
Vistra Senior Director of Communications and Media Relations Meranda Cohn sent a statement to KSBY that read in part, “This decision was primarily made because the city, within the past several weeks, published timelines and consideration processes that would add at least 18 months of municipal review prior to any preliminary vote.”
“It put the decision off over another year and they've already spent four years trying to get a permit from the city and I think they just said, time is money,” McPherson said.
Morro Bay’s Community Development Director Airlin Singewald also sent KSBY a statement saying in part, “The city is disappointed to learn of Vistra’s intent to bypass local zoning and instead apply to the state for approval under AB 205. We plan to fully engage in the AB 205 process to ensure the best possible outcome for the Morro Bay community.”
“[I feel] happiness because I knew after about a two-year battle we had a major impact and we know that the faster it goes to the Coastal Commission, the faster I can go on vacation,” Branin said.
A Vistra spokesperson says the company will spend the next several months preparing its state application and does not expect the new permitting process to formally begin before the end of the year.
The California Coastal Commission will have the final say on the project permits.
