News flash: Oil is a controversial topic.
So, dealing with an initiative like Measure P—which, if passed in November, would ban high-intensity drilling practices such as hydraulic fracturing and cyclic steam injection in Santa Barbara County—is debatable, may be confusing, and depends on which end of the conversation you land on. The county planning department’s attempt to clarify things with a draft ordinance was the topic of an Aug. 9 workshop that warranted public comment from the breadth of the oil-opinion spectrum.
Basically, the draft ordinance deals with Section 5 of the initiative, which lays out exemptions or exceptions to the would-be ban. The cloudiest of those have to do with vested rights and takings claims; both are legal terms that take their roots from the Constitution and are based on case law. What the ordinance attempts to do is lay down a pathway for businesses or individuals seeking those exemptions through an application and appeals process.
The loudest argument about Measure P has to do with existing oil operations. Initiative proponents maintain that it allows ongoing operations, while opponents say it will eventually stop all oil operations in the county.
Michael Meredith, a Measure P supporter, spoke to county staff during the public comment period of the workshop, encouraging staff to write rules and regulations that supported the intent of the “hopefully upcoming law,” while making them as simple and easy to work with as possible.
“Our purpose is to change direction, not impede what is already happening,” Meredith said.
Rebecca Claasen spoke up for Yes on Measure P, and said that through the draft ordinance “county staff has made it clear that there will be life after Measure P.”
But, of course, there were others who didn’t agree with that viewpoint. Several of the initiative’s opponents said that the ordinance would be useless.
“We believe measure P will effectively shut down all existing oil operations in the county, and this ordinance doesn’t prevent that,” Jim Bray, a Pacific Coast Energy Company spokesperson, said during public comment.
County staff will be presenting the draft ordinance to the Montecito Planning Commission on Aug. 25, the county Planning Commission on Sept. 3, and the county Board of Supervisors on Oct. 7.
This article appears in Aug 14-21, 2014.
