It’s been a year since the Morro Bay City Council approved a two-story fire station at 460 Bonita Street. The Planning Commission approved the permits in April, and a week later, neighbor Solmaz Naghsh filed an appeal.
“My personal reasoning would be probably one percent of the whole entire reason that I would be affected by the project,” Naghsh said.
Naghsh lives next door and says some of her concerns include the building’s height, cost, and curbside parking.
She hired a consultant who is a former fire chief, saying his recommendation was a single-story fire department due to response times.
“It could take longer to get from the living quarters to the apparatus bay to get into the truck to get out to the person," Naghsh said.
The appeal went before the Morro Bay City Council on Tuesday night.
In a unanimous vote, the council denied the appeal to continue with the already approved demolition of the existing structure to make way for a new 2,431 square foot two-story building with living quarters.
Morro Bay Fire Chief Daniel McCrain says some modifications were made to the plans following the appeal, like moving the structure’s placement back 25 feet instead of 20 and changing window placement.
He says the Bonita Street firehouse was built sometime between the 1930s and 40s and has not been staffed since the 1970s.
“There weren’t blueprints done of it at the time. It was just put together by volunteers back before the city was incorporated," Chief McCrain said.
The current fire station on Harbor Street was rebuilt 10 years ago after being damaged during the 2003 San Simeon earthquake.
McCrain says he currently runs two engine companies out of the city’s current fire station on Harbor Street and has to split personnel in order to handle simultaneous calls, but that could change with two stations.
“What I would do is move one of those engine companies to North Morro Bay," he said. "That would immediately improve the level of service to the north half of the city and then ultimately we’re going to work towards adding positions as city finances allow.”
Some neighbors are glad to see plans moving forward.
“If I was going to spend my taxes on it, it's worth it," said Edward Guzman. "So to me it is, you know, because we need it. We need them here and for them to be more satisfied and be comfortable with the bigger and make it bigger for their location, I think it’s good for the residents and Morro Bay."
McCrain said the project will cost about about $2.5 million and be paid for with federal, state, and grant funding. They are gathering funds to determine when they will break ground.
