After months of mostly quiet, succinct Monday evenings in Council Chambers, the long quiescent mood in the cavernous main room at City Hall is expected to give way to teeth-gritting contentiousness not long after tonight’s 7 o’clock City Council meeting begins.
It is crossroads time for the city.
With the Council’s 45-day moratorium on drilling in the Baldwin Hills by Plains, Exploration & Production Co., due to expire on Thursday, it will conduct a public hearing that will not allow neighbors to sleep.
Resident will be pitted against resident.
On one side will be those fearing that expanded oil drilling will imperil their welfare. Across the aisle, aligned with PXP, likely will be a blend of residents holding royalty rights to the Baldwin Hills drilling site and their sympathizers.
After the stormy public hearing, the five-member Council will vote on whether to extend the moratorium another 10 1/2 months while, it says, safety and healthy regulations under go intense review.
PXP, which filed suit against City Hall for adopting the brief moratorium, appears to be stirring around for a serious fight with the city if — as expected — the Council approves lengthening the moratorium into next August.
The Council voted unanimously to approve the present drilling ban. With a four/fifths vote required for extension, that is the path Council members are favored to take.
“My expectation is the Council will remain consistent to its position,” member Scott Malsin told the newspaper this morning. “After all, we are striving to protect the health and welfare of our community. “
As for the PXP lawsuit, “personally, I find it an outrage that the city is being threatened by them.”
Especially by the timing, he added.
According to the environmental impact report in last October’s County-approved Community Standards District, “PXP did not intend to drill in Culver City for a year or so,” Mr. Malsin said. “Their tactics are truly unfortunate.”
http://www.culvercity.org/sirepub/pubmtgframe.aspx?meetid=478&doctype=Agenda
