FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE
Contact: Airlin Singewald, Community Development Director
Email: asingewald@morrobayca.gov
November 4, 2025
City of Morro Bay Hosting Community Workshop for Waterfront Master Plan Update – November 18, 2025
The City of Morro Bay invites you to participate in a Community Workshop for the Waterfront Master Plan (WMP) Update on Tuesday, November 18, 2025. Your input is essential as we work together to shape the future of our waterfront!
This event will be the first of five public workshops scheduled over the next ten months. The November workshop will be held in an open house format, featuring several interactive stations where community members can:
- Learn about the existing Waterfront Master Plan.
- Review and comment on initial stakeholder findings.
- Participate in a visioning exercise to help guide the plan update.
On Thursday, November 5, the Waterfront Master Plan Advisory Committee (WMPAC) will meet to discuss staff’s analysis of the existing Waterfront Master Plan and the proposed agenda for the November workshop.
Background
The City has received $750,000 in grant funding to update the 1996 Waterfront Master Plan (WMP). The WMP, which is part of the City’s Local Coastal Program (LCP), serves as a land use policy guide, conceptual development plan, and implementation document.
The updated plan will:
- Establish a roadmap for enhancing the economic vitality of the Embarcadero.
- Preserve the area’s small fishing village character.
- Improve public access to the bay.
- Define a vision for redevelopment of the Morro Bay power plant property, former wastewater treatment plant, and adjacent City-owned lands.
- Include a sea level rise vulnerability assessment and adaptation plan.
In March 2025, the City Council created the Waterfront Master Plan Advisory Committee (WMPAC) to help guide the update process. The committee, which meets the first Thursday of every month, held its inaugural meeting in June 2025. These meetings are open to the public. More information is available on the WMPAC website: Waterfront Master Plan Advisory Committee | City of Morro Bay - Official Website
As the November workshop approaches, the project team continues advancing work on the circulation and market studies, which will be presented to the WMPAC on December 4.
Meanwhile, project engineers are finalizing an updated sea level rise analysis for City staff and California Coastal Commission review, with presentation to the WMPAC expected in early 2026.
In addition to the WMPAC meetings, the public will be invited to four additional workshops in 2026 to review the background report and technical studies, define a vision statement for the waterfront, and help develop concept plans for the waterfront.
The Waterfront Master Plan Update is scheduled for completion in November 2026. After its adopted by the City Council, the plan will be forwarded to the Coastal Commission for an LCP amendment.
More information is available on City’s Waterfront Master Plan website: Waterfront Master Plan | City of Morro Bay - Official Website
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