Fountain Valley City Council turns down resolution in support of offshore oil drilling ban
The Fountain Valley City Council on Tuesday withheld a stamp of approval to a resolution that would have shown support for a permanent ban on all new offshore oil and gas drilling operations off the coast of California.
Since the oil spill that occurred off the coast of Huntington Beach in October, local cities have put similar resolutions on the agenda at city council meetings.
Huntington Beach, Laguna Beach and Newport Beach — the three local cities with coastline — all threw support behind such resolutions in the aftermath of the oil spill.
The council during their regular meeting Tuesday night could not come to an agreement on the resolution, as a 2-2-1 vote followed the discussion. Mayor Pro Tem Kim Constantine and Councilman Glenn Grandis voted to adopt the resolution, while Mayor Patrick Harper and Councilman Michael Vo opposed it. Councilman Ted Bui abstained.
“Personally, I think we should take a more cooperative approach with the oil industry,” Harper said. “So, certainly work towards waning ourselves off of oil and explore alternative energy sources, but I think supporting a permanent ban is a little bit of an overreaction.”
Local leaders, legislators and actress and environmental advocate Jane Fonda spoke at an event in support of a ban on offshore oil drilling in Laguna Beach on Monday.
Grandis pleaded with his colleagues on the dais to consider the resolution, pointing to economic hardship on industries such as fisheries from the recent spill. He added that another incident could impact property values.
“This is, in my opinion, a no-brainer, should be pushed through, should be something that we support our sister cities,” Grandis said. “I dare to say that I’m concerned that this is political in response, and I don’t like it.
“This is a nonpartisan city, and I think we’re playing partisan politics here, and I don’t like it. This is something that should not even be questioned, and it’s shameful. It’s shameful if this doesn’t pass. I’m embarrassed.”
Vo said he did not view weighing in on potential policy for offshore drilling in state and federal waters to be a Fountain Valley issue, suggesting that the vote on the resolution would make no difference in federal policy.
“Would that resolution change the way the state or the way the federal government [views] offshore drilling,” Vo said. “I think this issue is turned on and turned off by different administrations.”
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