Coastal Panel OKs Palisades Drilling Plan

Despite a hardball political move designed to block Occidental Petroleum Corp.’s plans to sink exploratory wells in the Pacific Palisades, the California Coastal Commission on Tuesday approved the controversial drilling plan on a 7-5 vote.

The approval came at the close of a dramatic meeting marked by the abrupt dismissal of a coastal commissioner and the appointment of a replacement.

Gilbert Contreras, a prominent San Diego County builder who sources said was set to vote in favor of the Occidental drilling plan, was relieved of his duties at 5:35 p.m. by the Senate Rules Committee and replaced by Christine Minnehan, the committee’s staff liaison to the coastal panel.

The action--relayed to a visibly stunned Contreras--was described by a source close to the Senate committee as “a pre-emptive” strike that would prevent the commission from approving Occidental’s plans to drill in the ecologically sensitive bluffs. Contreras, who had alienated environmental groups with earlier votes, was expected to vote in favor of Occidental.

But in the end, the panel surprised the audience at the Santa Monica Civic Auditorium by approving the plan. Commissioner Robert Franco, who said he had previously been “80% against the project,” cast the final, decisive vote.

Franco said he changed his mind after visiting the site just inland of Pacific Coast Highway. “It’s not a pristine area,” Franco told reporters after the meeting. “I went out there and looked. The place is a dump. It’s far away from the beach.”

Before it sinks exploratory wells, Occidental still must clear one more hurdle--a lawsuit filed by No Oil Inc., the activist group that has fought the drilling plan for more than 15 years. A Los Angeles Superior Court judge last year invalidated the city ordinances that allow the drilling, but ruled later that Occidental could continue to seek required city permits while the oil company pursued an appeal.

Occidental, which believes up to 60 million barrels of oil lie beneath the bluffs, would then have to seek further Coastal Commission approval to drill production wells.

The removal of Contreras--engineered by Senate President Pro Tem David A. Roberti, who chairs the rules committee--had left the impression that the panel would vote down Occidental’s bid. It angered several commissioners and even appeared to stun opponents of the drilling plan.

“This is real hardball politics,” Robert Sulnick, president of No Oil Inc., said after the dismissal. “This is the first time it’s worked in our favor.”

Roberti, an opponent of the Occidental plan, said only that the rules committee had a “slight disagreement” with Contreras over a pending committee matter.

But several government sources said Contreras, who like three other appointees serves “at the pleasure” of the Rules Committee, had already alienated environmental groups who had put pressure on Roberti to replace Contreras. One source said Contreras had bragged over the weekend that the Occidental vote was a “done deal,” with seven commissioners voting with Occidental and five against.

After stepping down from the panel, Contreras adamantly denied the reports and said he was preparing to vote against Occidental.

“I don’t know why he did it,” he said of Roberti. “I would’ve voted against the project based on what I heard tonight.”

Contreras acknowledged, however, that three rules committee members--none of whom were Roberti--had invited him to Sacramento about four months ago and “expressed concern” about his votes, saying environmental groups had been pressuring committee members on his stands on pending coastal projects. Contreras said none of the senators had specifically discussed the Occidental matter with him.

Contreras professed surprise at the criticism, saying “I probably voted more with the commission staff than any of the other members.”

Sierra Club Sacramento lobbyist Paula Carrell said Tuesday night that the club had been urging Roberti since last August to fire Contreras. “He’s (Contreras) had a terrible voting record. He’s one of the worst on the Coastal Commission,” she said.

But, she said Roberti’s move to replace Contreras in the middle of his term was unusual. “To my knowledge, they have not before removed somebody in mid-term,” she said.

She said she didn’t know why Roberti moved now. But she said that if Contreras had provided the swing vote allowing Occidental Petroleum to drill, the political repercussions would have been considerable.

“It’s a very hot issue in L.A. and I think there probably would have been an explosion,” Carrell said. “Roberti is up for reelection the next time around and I don’t think he can (upset) a lot of people,” she said.

Contreras said the note from Roberti thanked him for his service on the commission and offered assistance in the future. “I don’t need that kind of assistance,” Contreras said angrily.

The news of Contreras’s dismissal--about 1 1/2 hours after the Occidental hearing began--was greeted with shocked reactions.

News of Contreras’ firing came in yellow envelopes distributed to the commissioners.

‘Damn Emergency’

“We have a real damn emergency,” said Commissioner Dorill Wright. “I have not seen anything like this happen before.”

At 7:05 p.m., after Minnehan was sworn in, Coastal Commission chairman Michael Wornum, also a rules committee appointee, said: “ “I frankly don’t think this is the right way to treat people. I apologize to Commissioner Contreras.”

“This is unbelievable,” said Commissioner Mark Nathanson. “I have never in 20 years sitting in public bodies seen anything like this. . . . It is the lowest political act I have ever seen.”

Nathanson described the dismissal as “the most blatant politicizing of the commission I have ever seen.”

After Minnehan took Contreras’ chair, Joseph Petrillo, a chief Occidental representative, immediately challenged her right to vote because the public hearing had already begun.

Contreras left the meeting to place briefcases in his car, then returned to see Minnehan on the panel. “They’ve already replaced me,” he said softly. “She’s already there.”

After the vote, Minnehan, a Sacramento resident, told reporters she did not know until that afternoon she was going to be appointed. She said she had come to the commission in part to make sure commissioners had seen a letter Roberti authored June 25 stating his opposition to the drilling plan.

Minnehan said she met with Contreras Tuesday morning to make sure he’d gotten a copy of Roberti’s letter. “He seemed to be leaning toward the project,” she said, then added, “ . . . no wait a minute, that’s not fair. He was ambiguous.”

Voting in favor of the exploration wells were Franco, Wright, Nathanson, Steve MacElvaine, Donald McInnis, David L. Malcolm, and Thomas J. McMurray Jr. Voting against were Minnehan, Wornum, Mary Lou Howard, Duane Garrett and Susan McCabe.

The commission’s staff had recommended denial of the drilling application, contending that the location is better suited for shoreline visitors’ parking or another recreational use.

Occidental’s quest to drill for oil beneath the Palisades bluffs has spawned bitter arguments, intensive lobbying and dramatic shifts in advantage since the first announcement of the proposal in 1966.

Mayor Tom Bradley’s opposition to Occidental’s plan was a highlight of his first successful campaign for mayor in 1973. But after a 1978 veto, he granted a surprise approval to the project after City Council backing in 1985.

Times staff writers Scott Harris and Larry B. Stammer contributed to this article.