A View From Harbor Street 
By David Buckingham

Morro Bay has a bright future. The City has a tremendous amount of potential opportunities such as preserving our amazing environment for all to enjoy, ensuring our neighborhoods have wonderful character, revitalizing our downtown business district to provide additional shopping and services, and wisely redeveloping spaces such as the existing waste water treatment plant and the Morro Bay Power Plant.
The City’s General Plan and Local Coastal Program (LCP) revision is starting now. The letter below, signed by all five current City Council members, is both informative and an invitation. The letter explains more about the GP/LCP process, and invites you, our residents, to take an active part in this process by serving on the “General Plan Advisory Committee.”
Please consider applying to be part of this critical effort.  Applicants not selected for service on the GPAC will have the opportunity to contribute on one of the subcommittees.
Should you be absolutely unable to attend the scheduled interviews, the Council may consider all volunteers who submit an application. The closing date for application has been extended to Friday, May 8.
The city is also accepting applications for positions on the Tourism Business Improvement District Advisory Board, the Recreation and Parks Commission, and the Citizens Oversight and Finance Committee.

Dear Residents,
The City Council is excited to be embarking on updating the City’s General Plan and Local Coastal Program. These two documents are the long-range planning blueprints that guide a City’s growth and development.
Our City’s character and heritage are defined by these two guiding documents and currently they are over 28-years old.
We celebrated 50 years as an incorporated City in 2014 and our future needs a roadmap to get started on the next 50 years.
One intent of the update process is to combine the General Plan and Local Coastal Program into a single, comprehensive policy document. The current General Plan and LCP include the following topics:
The General Plan currently contains seven elements: 1. Land Use, Open Space and Conservation; 2. Circulation; 3. Visual Resources and Scenic Highway; 4. Safety; 5. Noise; 6. Housing; and 7. Access and Recreation.
In addition to updating/revising these elements, the City may add additional optional elements related to Sea Level Rise, Economics, and/or Tourism.
The Local Coastal Program includes the following current chapters:  Land Use; Shoreline Access and Recreation; Visitor Serving Facilities; Commercial Fishing and  Recreational Boating; Public Works and Locating and Planning New Development; Coastal Agriculture; Hazards, Diking, Dredging, Filling and Shoreline Protection; Environmentally Sensitive Habitat Areas; and Visual Resources.
To achieve the update and to fully integrate the community’s desires through this three-year process, the City Council is forming a “General Plan Citizen’s Advisory Committee” or GPAC.
The Council is seeking community members who are willing to serve a three year term on this very important and exciting committee.
Applications may be attained at City Hall or online at: www.morro-bay.ca.us under the “Your Government” tab. The closing date for submitting applications is Friday, May 8 at 5 p.m.
Interviews will be held on Monday, May 18 at 5:30 p.m. at the Morro Bay Community Center.
The intent of the General Plan and Local Coastal Program Advisory Committee is to support the policy direction provided by the Council and to provide input and guidance to City staff and the consultant team on the planning process and its products.
The GPAC serves as liaison to the community on General Plan related topics, ensures and seeks consistency with the City’s vision during General Plan/LCP deliberations and irrespective of individual points of view or preferences, seeks the benefit of the entire community in its recommendations.
It is anticipated that the GPAC members will participate in review of the responses to the General Plan/LCP “Request for Proposals” and subsequent consultant selection. GPAC members can expect to participate in approximately 16 open public hearings, including workshops and various other public outreach activities.
The City has committed to completing the General Plan and Local Coastal Program update in three years and the GPAC will be instrumental in this process. It is anticipated that individual task force level groups will be formed to provide support to the GPAC on specific update topics such as Economic Development, Conservation, Traffic and Safety, Access/Recreation, and Harbor Operations.
Your input is vital in shaping the character and future of our community. Thank you for considering applying for this committee.
Respectfully yours,
The Morro Bay City Council

Should you have any questions or need assistance with the application, please contact the City Clerk, Dana Swanson, at: . As always, you may contact me directly at: .

David Buckingham is the Morro Bay city manager. A View from Harbor Street is a regular feature of The Bay News.