Occidental’s Oil Drilling Measure OKd for Ballot

Occidental Petroleum Corp.’s counter-initiative to protect its claim to drilling rights in Pacific Palisades has qualified, as expected, for the November ballot, election officials said Friday.

This virtually assures a bitter and expensive contest between environmentalists and pro-drilling forces in the fall. Voters can expect to be bombarded with mail as well as radio and television commercials about the issue, both sides agree.

City Clerk Elias Martinez said a random sampling of the pro-drilling initiative petitions submitted last week by the Occidental-backed California Coastal Protection Committee indicated that if all signatures were counted, the measure would qualify. Voter-circulated initiatives may qualify for a local or statewide ballot based on a random count.

The Occidental-backed measure’s place on the November ballot was assured only two days after an initiative sponsored by City Councilmen Marvin Braude and Zev Yaroslavsky qualified. The Los Angeles City Council on Tuesday is expected to formally approve the competing measures for the fall election.

The pro-drilling initiative was launched shortly after Yaroslavsky and Braude announced that they would seek voter approval of a measure to rescind three ordinances adopted in 1985 that grant Occidental exploratory drilling rights in Pacific Palisades. The drilling site is across Pacific Coast Highway from Will Rogers State Beach.

The pro-drilling initiative that qualified Friday would protect those drilling rights, as well as earmark a certain portion of the oil revenues for police and education. In an apparent effort to demonstrate concern for the environment, the pro-drilling initiative also calls on the city of Los Angeles to, in effect, reaffirm its opposition to offshore drilling in Santa Monica Bay.

The opposing sides have predicted for weeks that they would be squaring off in November with competing initiatives. Whichever measure passes with the most yes votes will become law.

Anti-drilling forces have accused Occidental of trying to confuse the voters with language that appears to oppose oil drilling, but in fact permits it at the Occidental site. Drilling proponents, meanwhile, contend that their measure takes a stronger stand on offshore drilling in the Santa Monica Bay.