Why Vote No on A-24?

A-24 is bad policy. It takes away the basic ability of our informed City Council to make complicated land use decisions, potentially at a high cost to citizens.

Here are the facts about the effects of A-24 and its impact on the battery plant as well as its longer-term bad outcomes for Morro Bay.

You can dive into more details on all of these bullet points here.

• • Worst of all outcomes: If the City Council denies Vistra a permit OR if A-24 passes without a Council decision, the site is likely to remain exactly as it is, but with the addition of a battery storage facility.
  • A-24 is bad public policy. It bypasses our elected representative democracy.
  • The ballot measure says not one word about the battery plant. See the ballot measure here.
  • A-24 gives away local control over the battery plant. Vistra can get a permit from Sacramento, totally bypassing the Morro Bay City Council and local ordinances.
  • The State has every reason to give Vistra the permit and no reason to deny it--the project is consistent with adopted renewable energy goals.
  • The Coastal Commission is very unlikely to prevent Vistra from getting its battery permit through the State.
  • PG&E has placed deed restrictions on the entire power plant site that prohibit visitor-serving projects. See the deed restrictions here.
  • None of the A-24 supporters have shown real evidence there is a demand for more visitor-serving businesses.
  • If Vistra is allowed to bypass the City and get approval from Sacramento, we lose control of the community benefits that may accrue.

That is why we are opposed to the citizen’s initiative. We elected our City Councilmembers to study the issues and to make decisions in the best interests of all citizens. We do not want to freeze zoning and take away the power of our duly elected officials to make future decisions that will determine the City’s financial viability. Vote No on A-24 and let our five representatives do their job.