Susan Jordan California Coastal Advocate

Kit Bobko of Hermosa Beach City Council Violated The Brown Act

Watch Kit Bobko Blatantly Violate The Brown Act in a Public Meeting

This meeting above was the first City Council's first attempt at a public meeting that did not go so well for them.  They tried sneak it onto the agenda of a School Board Meeting that was supposed to be about public safety and it back fired on them.  Preventing discussion of certain issues on the agenda is a Violation of the Brown Act.

Will one of the 5 City Council members crack and break the code of silence by November?  Or will the Citizens revolt and elect 3 responsible Hermosa Beach citizens who work for the Communities best interest not their own. We need to make sure that our elected officials loyalty is not divided by serving on board(s) or organizations where there can be conflicting interest.  We need to make sure that our elected officials are disclosing information, signing legal agreements, hiring reputable companies and City Attorneys that we can trust.

A lawsuit was filed in the town Sanford / Broome County, N.Y., whose town board has blocked discussion of fracking at public meetings.  This is very similar to what is going on in Hermosa Beach and the City Council trying to deflect responsibility to a regulatory process.  This video of Sanford, New York are what future meetings in Hermosa Beach are going to look like if the City Council continue to stand behind their illegal code of silence and not commenting the agreement or oil drilling.

The Natural Resources Defense Council and Catskill Citizens for Safe Energy argue that the board of the town of Sanford violated citizens’ right to free speech (Brown Act) when it voted unanimously to block any further discussion of the controversial natural gas extraction technique during the public comment sections of town board meetings. (See the video above.)

Cities That Have Banned Oil & Gas Fracking

Elections & City Council Bans

1)  Longmont, Colorado (Denver / Boulder Suburb) slaps drilling in face, Outspent 30-1 by oil and gas hacks, bans fracking within city limits. Not even close. 60%-40%.

2)  Mansfield, Ohio voters adopt Community Charter Amendment That Bans Toxic Injection Wells. Not even close 63%-37% 

3)  Ferguson, Pennsylvania voters approve Clean Air & Water Community Bill of Rights while banning injection wells, fracking & shale gas development.  52%-48%

4)  Not a ban but Carpinteria, California drilling initiative defeated oil drilling in 2010.  Blowout victory 70%-30%.

5)  Wellsburg, West Virginia City Council Banned Fracking

6)  Morgantown, West Virginia banned fracking and forced to zoning by judge ruling 

Read about more State initiatives underway.

I don't think people who have actually lived and own homes in Hermosa Beach, California have any intention of moving backwards to permit a century long ban of drilling in Santa Monica Bay. E&B is simply wasting our value time and City resources which could be better spent elsewhere.

E&B still has the opportunity to pack up their bags and go home to save face. 2014 is a long way away.

Please email any others I may have left off to jeff@drillingmaps.com

Carpinteria Oil Drilling Initiative Defeated

Carpinteria Oil Drilling Initiative Defeated, Measure J (June 2010)

Yes: 944 (29.94%)

No: 2,209 (70.06%)

Measure J (Venoco's Oil Drilling Initiative) from Ted Rhodes on Vimeo.

A Carpinteria Oil Drilling Initiative was on the June 8, 2010 ballot in the City of Carpinteria in Santa Barbara County, where it was defeated. The primary effect of Measure J would have been to approve a slant oil and gas drilling project proposed by Venoco Inc. along Carpinteria’s coastline.  Real estate values were projected to decrease 10-15%.  Please read the Carpenteria Environmental Impact Report (EIR) which reveals some scary facts. 

Posing as a so-called "people's" initiative, Measure J was an attempt by Venoco to bypass local city government review and oversight. As the only donor to the pro side of the ballot measure, Venoco spent well over $600,000 – compared to $80,000 spent by Citizens CAP (Committee Against Paredon Initiative) that was raised from hundreds of individuals – trying to convince the voters of our small town as to the benefits and safety of their proposed massive oil drilling Paredon Project and why Venoco should be allowed to bypass all the local rules and regulations everybody else in Carpinteria needs to follow. Read more details here.

	MEASURE J: Shall the General Plan/Local Coastal Land Use Plan of the City of Carpinteria be amended and a Specific Plan adopted to authorize development of the Paredon Project, a private development project to explore, develop, produce and gather offshore and onshore oil and natural gas resources and transmit them to the Carpinteria Oil and Gas Processing Facility operated by Venoco, Inc.?