CHULA VISTA -- The San Diego Port Commission today will discuss a request from Chula Vista officials to demolish the South Bay Power Plant and prevent a new bayfront power plant from being built.

For nearly 50 years, Chula Vista's bayfront has been home to the fume-spewing South Bay Power Plant, a massive structure of smokestacks and scaffolding. City officials want the plant torn down and the land redeveloped.

LS Power Generation, which operates the plant, has asked the Port for a long-term lease of an adjacent bayfront site so that the company can build a smaller, modern plant.

The Chula Vista City Council voted Feb. 20 to oppose that lease and any plan that would put a new power plant along the water.

The council's vote was largely symbolic, because the Port Commission -- not the city -- has jurisdiction over the bayfront land.

Today, the Port Commission is not scheduled to make a decision on the lease. However, commissioners will discuss Chula Vista's stance and direct the Port staff what to do next. The meeting will begin at 9 a.m. in the Don L. Nay Administration Building, 3165 Pacific Highway, San Diego.

Laura Hunter, a spokeswoman for the Environmental Health Coalition, which opposes bayfront power generation, said she will attend.

"We're obviously hoping they will follow the city of Chula Vista's lead in taking the options we don't want off the table," Hunter said.

The California Independent System Operator has given the South Bay Power Plant a "must run" designation, meaning it must remain open unless a replacement plant is built.

LS Power Generation says that building a replacement power plant will allow the old plant to come down. The company has already asked the state for permission to build on the bayfront parcel that it wants to lease from the Port.

Chula Vista Mayor Cheryl Cox led the charge to get the power plant off the bayfront. On Jan. 22, Cox announced that she wanted the 47-year-old plant gone and replaced somewhere inland.

Cox based her position on a statement by Jim Avery, a senior vice president for SDG&E. He said Jan. 18 that the utility company was confident it could meet the region's power needs without a new bayfront plant. He said SDG&E had "no plans" to buy power from it.

At a Feb. 20 meeting, Cox's council colleagues followed her lead, unanimously approving a resolution stating, "The city of Chula Vista does not want a power plant on its bayfront, old or new." The council also called for the South Bay Power Plant to be decommissioned by January 2010.

Cox said yesterday that since that vote, circumstances have changed. For one, SDG&E now says it will accept bids from LS Power to provide energy.

Cox said the council will hold a special workshop March 26 with Port officials and state regulators to discuss the latest information. She said the city's top priority is getting rid of the South Bay Power Plant.

"Our first formal position is to dismantle the current plant," she said.

The city's 550-acre bayfront stretches from the Sweetwater Marsh National Wildlife Refuge to just south of the power plant. Gaylord Entertainment wants to develop part of the land with a hotel, convention center and condominiums. The San Diego Chargers also are eyeing the Chula Vista bayfront as a possible stadium site.

OVERVIEW

Background:

City officials want to demolish the South Bay Power Plant, but state regulators won't allow it to be shut down until there is a replacement. LS Power Generation, which operates the plant, is seeking permission to build a smaller power plant on another bayfront site.

What's happening:

The Chula Vista City Council voted Feb. 20 to block any plan to put another power plant on the bayfront. The San Diego Port Commission, which administers the land on which LS Power wants to build, will discuss the issue today.

The future:

The Port Commission will vote on whether to lease land to LS Power for a replacement plant. Meanwhile, Chula Vista officials will continue working with state regulators to eliminate the mandate keeping the plant open.