Central Coast Blue
Advanced Water
Purification Facility
Update
GROVERBEACH.ORG
Megan Martin, Community Development Director
December 8, 2025
Project Site Information
GROVERBEACH.ORG
• Property Owner: City of Pismo Beach
• APN(s): 060-543-007; 060-543-016
• Site Area: Approx. 2.1 acres (95,329 sf)
• General Plan Designation: Industrial
• Zoning Designation: Industrial
• Coastal Zone: Yes; partially within
060-543-007
060-543-016
Coastal Zone
Regulatory Setting
GROVERBEACH.ORG
• Facility is a municipal water treatment facility, considered a “critical public service”
• Pursuant to California Government Code Section 53091:
• Project is exempt from local building and zoning ordinances • Project must be designed and constructed in conformance with State building standards, safety codes, and all required environmental and engineering regulations.
• City staff will collaborate with Pismo Beach on design, screening, noise, fire access, grading, utilities, traffic, and overall safety to ensure neighborhood compatibility and compliance, to the extent feasible, with local standards.
Local Regulations, Standards, Guidelines
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Coastal Act and Coastal Permit Summary
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• The Coastal Act and City’s Local Coastal Program
(LCP) requires a Coastal Development Permit
(CDP) for development inside the Coastal Zone.
• CCB facility within Grover Beach is now sited
outside the City’s Coastal Zone; no City CDP is
required.
• Prior CDP consolidation request (2023) applied to
previous CCB design within the Coastal Zone.
• Portions of the project outside City limits may still require CDPs from other jurisdictions.
• For the revised project, CDP authority will rest with other jurisdictions (Pismo Beach, County of San
Luis Obispo) and Coastal Commission.
Coastal Zone
General Plan
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• Land Use Element
• LU-11.3 – Location of Industrial Development
• LU-11.4 – Clean Industries
• LU-11.6 – Compatibility of New Industrial Development • Safety Element
• S-7.5 – Resilient Water Supply
• Implementation Measure S7.5.1 – Partnership on Central Coast Blue • Implementation Measure S7.5.2 – Support on-going risk of Saltwater intrusion into the basin
General Plan Continued
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• Noise Element
• Policy 4.3.6 – Stationary
Noise Sources
Industrial Design Guidelines
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• Site Planning
• Building Design and Form
• Neighborhood Compatibility
• Landscaping and Screening
• Walls and Fences
• Off-street Parking and Loading
• Signage and Lighting
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Grover Beach
Development
Code
Environmental Review
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• Pismo Beach is Lead Agency (PRC §21067)
• Grover Beach is Responsible Agency
• 2021 Certified Environmental Impact Report (EIR)
• 2023 EIR Addendum (Addendum)
• Refined project is substantially smaller in scope and falls entirely within the impacts evaluated and mitigated in the Final EIR and Addendum • Previous adopted Mitigation Measures remain applicable and address project impacts.
• No substantial changes to the project or circumstances require revisions to the previously certified environmental documents.
• City Manager, Jorge Garcia
• Public Works Director, Rosemarie Gaglione
• Community Development Director, Scot Graham
City of Pismo Beach
GROVERBEACH.ORG
• City staff to coordinate closely with Pismo Beach
through entirety of the project:
• Design-build process
• Community Engagement and Outreach
• Project design and Construction
• Periodic updates to the Council for additional input
Next Steps
GROVERBEACH.ORG
Project Description
GROVERBEACH.ORG
• New potable water reuse facility in
Grover Beach; 350 – 600 acre-feet
per year of water
• 2,500 linear feet pipelines
connecting to the Pismo Beach
Wastewater Treatment Plan
• (1) for secondary effluent from the
outfall to the new facility
• (1) to convey reverse osmosis
concentrate from the facility back to
the outfall
• (2) offsite monitoring wells for
testing and monitoring
• (1) extraction well (future location to
be determined)
Government Code Section 53091
GROVERBEACH.ORG
• 53091. (a) Each local agency shall comply with all applicable building ordinances and zoning ordinances of the county or city in which the territory of the local agency is situated.
• (d) Building ordinances of a county or city shall not apply to the location or construction of facilities for the production, generation, storage, treatment, or transmission of water, wastewater, or electrical energy by a local agency. • (e) Zoning ordinances of a county or city shall not apply to the location or construction of facilities for the production, generation, storage, treatment, or transmission of water, or for the production or generation of electrical energy, facilities that are subject to Section 12808.5 of the Public Utilities Code, or electrical substations in an electrical transmission system that receives electricity at less than 100,000 volts. Zoning ordinances of a county or city shall apply to the location or construction of facilities for the storage or transmission of electrical energy by a local agency, if the zoning ordinances make provision for those facilities.
(Amended by Stats. 2002, Ch. 267, Sec. 1. Effective January 1, 2003.)