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HomeMy Public PortalAboutCity Council_Minutes_1970-02-25_Regular 1970COUNCIL MINUTES CITY OF TEMPLE CITY ADJOURNED MEETING FEBRUARY 25, 1970 INITIATION: 1. Mayor Harker called the Adjourned Meeting of the City Council to order at 7:30 p.m. 2. The Pledge of Allegiance to the Flag was led by Mayor Harker. 3. ROLL CALL: PRESENT: Councilmen - Beckley, Briggs, Merritt, Harker ABSENT: Councilmen - Tyrell ALSO PRESENT: City Manager Koski, City Attorney Martin, Planning Director Dragicevich, and professional resource persons to provide testimony. Councilman Tyrell was not present at the time of roll call, however he arrived shortly thereafter and was present for the opening discussion. UNFINISHED BUSINESS: 4. PUBLIC HEARING: Continued. Re. Appeal from Planning Commission Decision on Conditional Use Permit 70 -309PC by Standard Oil Company of California for core -hole drilling at Live Oak Park. Mayor Harker prefaced the discussion by outlining the procedure that would be followed relative to receiving testimony, advising that the resource persons who had been invited would speak first, following which those in the audience who had new information or facts to present would be allowed to speak, and finally any rebuttal to statements or answers to inquiries would be the privilege of the applicant. Mayor Harker advised that the following testimony and documents were on record as part of this hearing: Minutes of the Parks & Recreation Commission Meeting in which it was recommended the subject site be used for the purpose requested, Complete transcript of Planning Commission Public Hearing and min- utes, together with Resolution No. 70 -371PC denying the Conditional Use Permit by a 3 to 2 vote, Minutes and tape of the Public Hearing before the City Council on February 17, 1970, which meeting had been continued to this evening, and All communications, both for and against, including those that had been received up until 7:30 p.m. this evening, and a record of all telephone calls received. City Manager Koski introduced the professional witnesses and their topics as follows: Mr. Verne Gaede, Associate Oil and Gas Engineer, State Division of Oil and Gas, who would speak to safety and water protection. Captain Marvin Hill and Inspector Joe Day, Los Angeles County Fire Prevention Bureau, who would speak to fire protection. Council Minutes, February 25, 1970 - Page 2 Mr. Art Spaulding, Petroleum Administrator, City of Los Angeles, and registered geologist, who would discuss the experience of the City of Los Angeles in regard to core -hole and oil drilling. Mr. A. F. Woodward, Petroleum Engineer Consultant and Registered Geologist, South Pasadena, who would speak on technical aspects, noise factor, cost analysis, proposed site and geology. Mr. Gaede of the State Division of Oil and Gas advised that the primary concern of that agency was with blow -out prevention equipment, the casing, ,and anything that is subsurface which also relates to the protection of fresh water. He advised that this is one of the critical areas, and that equipment would be rated at 5,000 pounds pressure per square inch, and is inspected and tested at 1,000 PSI for 15 minutes, minimum requirement, after the surface pipe is installed. However at this time the State Division of Oil and Gas has not received a proposal from the applicant. He advised that the general requirements would be for at least 10% of the total depth of the surface casing, however a deeper depth may be required if necessary to protect the fresh water for the area. He advised that certain mud warning devices to indicate the mud level were a requirement, and that this type of operation may require running test samples : to determine that the fresh water would be protected. Upon inquiry as to the number of blow -outs that occur, Mr. Gaede advised that of the last 60,000 wells, not more than 10 blow -outs had occured, none of a serious nature; the potential hazard as far as a blow -out in the drilling operation of a core -hole is concerned . is practically nil; that once the well is abandoned there is no hazard; that hazard of blow -out is usually after a well is completed to production, and then if a few years later the well is pulled; that results of tests are documented and filed in the records, as well as submitted to the operator; and that the plugging of the well is witnessed by representatives of the State agency. Captain Hill of the Fire Prevention Bureau discussed what was required as to obtaining a permit from the Fire Department, and the availability of and type of fire extinguishers on the drilling platform. He advised relative to and discussed the provisions of Division X, Crude Oil Production, of the City Fire Code, in particular, page 122, sections 15.1001 -2; page 123, section 15.1005; and page 124, section 15.1011; describing the permit required, the location of the oil well, the prevention of blow -outs, and fire control. He advised that when a request for a drilling permit is received, the Fire Prevention Bureau would meet with the applicant and discuss safety factors and conduct a fire brigade training program. Inspector Day discussed his observations at the Getty oil fire, which he described as not a blow -out, but an uncontrolled fire due to breakage. Mr. Spaulding, petroleum administrator for the City of Los Angeles and registered geologist, spoke to the experience of the City of Los Angeles since 1953 when the core -hole ordinance was adopted, which ordinance he described as the life -blood of modern drilling ventures taking place within the City, and by which production had increased approximately 100 -fold, adding substantial revenue to the City. Of the 500 drilling ventures within the City since that time, approximately 300 have been for production, and the remaining 200 as core holes. The safety against blow -outs occuring was considered as .02 %, since one blow -out had occured. He des- cribed this incident as having been due to negligence on the part of the drilling crew, and that while there was no hazard to the surrounding area, there was one fatality among the crew. He advised that normally an exploratory well would be designed for eventual completion, but that a core -hole is designed not to produce. Photographs of development wells, some of which were camouflaged, were provided for Council review. Council Minutes, February 25, 1970 - Page 3 Mr. Woodward, petroleum engineer consultant and registered geologist, discussed the technical aspects of the site and the tower, as well as noise suppression devices. He described blow -out and potential fire hazard as minimal for this type of operation, and outlined the types of soundproofing that are available to minimize noise to nearby residents. He stated that a core -hole operation in this area would take at least 60 days for an 8,000 to 10,000 foot hole, upon inquiry, he described how the drilling operation, by use of instruments, can reach in different directions to arrive at the desired site. He advised that even on a 24 -hour schedule, the pipe must be removed every 12 hours to replace the drilling bit. Upon inquiry, Mr. Woodward advised that he did not know of any regulations that should be required of this operation, over and above the State requirements. Following a question and answer period between the Council and the resource persons, Mayor Harker invited persons in the audience to come forward to speak either for or against the issue. C. W. Anderson, 5526 N. Ryland, speaking against the matter, took issue with procedures by which the Public Hearing had been conducted, stating that in his opinion members of the Council who had signed leases should not be permitted to consider the issue, and also that a "straw ballot" was an improper tool for consideration of the issue, in that notification to lessors by Standard Oil had generated response of persons as proponents, while it was his contention that the matter should rest with the residents of the area. Mr. Anderson filed a written statement covering his remarks. Mayor Harker apprised Mr. Anderson that the City Attorney had ruled that councilmen who had signed leases were eligible to participate in the decision- making following the disclosure as to having signed the lease, and affirmation that they could fairly jud9e the issue. He advised that a "straw vote" as such had not been taken, but that the show of hands was to provide everyone present the opportunity to express whether they were for or against the matter, without having to come up to the podium since time did not permit everyone to speak. Further, that he had stated that the show of hands would not be an element to the decision. Karl Lloyd, ,9846 Olive, stated that he h.ad been employed by an oil company at one time and that he had had the opportunity to receive the fire brigade training program, and that it was an excellent experience. John Stacey, 5626 Gracewood, read a communication, which was presented to the Council for filing, in which he stated that all of the factors being considered by the Council, such as hours of operation, number of cores, safety, or outside consultants to be heard, in his opinion had no bearing, that it was the people of the area who were being inconvenienced and that the determination should be made by them, the same as in a zone change. City Attorney Martin explained that zoning belongs to the taxpayers and the voters of the City as a whole, that they express their wishes by the election and maintaining in office of five City Council- men; that when a zone change of any kind is to be made, the City should give reasonable notice to persons most affected by the proposed change, to the people within a prescribed distance; however that the interest of the City as a whole and the taxpayers still prevails. City Attorney Martin also clarified the use of the reference to count persons for and against the matter as a "straw vote" as being an unfair term. He advised that he had prefaced the opening of the Public Hearing by advising that certain petitions and letters had been received, but that the content of the messages was not accepted as testimony and that the City Council could not base their opinion on the plebiscite, but on the three criteria, 1) that the site must be adequate, 2) that roads must be adequate, and 3) it must not be detrimental to the neighborhood properties or the City as a whole. Council Minutes, February 25, 1970 - Page 4 Councilman Tyrell inquired as to the adequacy of the site as it pertained to the fire code. It was determined that depending on the exact location that may be chosen by Standard Oil for the core -hole itself, within the 100' x 200' area described, the site may not meet the requirements of the fire code as to distance of 300' from the convalescent hospital, or 75 feet from dedicated street and /or other requirements as des- cribed in Section 15.1002 of the fire code. Mayor Harker declared a 15- minute recess at 9:10 p.m. for the purpose of Standard Oil representatives and staff to examine the ordinance as it pertains to the location of the core -hole, to determine if the hearing should proceed further. Council reconvened at 9:25 p.m., and Mayor Harker invited others present who wished to speak to come forward. Boyce O'Bannon, 10316 Olive, stated that he did not feel the residents would be inconvenienced to any great extent and was in favor of the permit being granted. Fred Lunqhard, 10149 Bogue, advised that he was within the 300' radius of the proposed site, and was concerned as to where the required water pressure for fire protection would come from, since the pressure in the area was only 40 #. He was advised that on -the- site fire pumps are provided by the drilling installation for this protection. Mr. Lunghard also inquired if information was available as to the number of core - holes being drilled in R -1 zones within the City of Los Angeles; and discussed the effect of the drilling oper- ation on property values as being detrimental while the rig is so located. Carl Swanson, 9951 Bogue, opposed the granting of a permit because he felt it would be noisy while 5,000 or more feet of pipe would be pulled every evening. Bernard Cook, 5736 Rowland, who favored the granting of the permit, inquired if rezoning of the park would be in order. He was advised that the zoning does not change with public use, that it remains the same as the area in which it exists. Bill Swain, 5758 Agnes, speaking in favor, advised that he had recently attended classes for three weeks, within 500' of a core - hole operation, and that while the classroom windows were closed, there was no buffer except the acoustical material provided on the site, and that the sound of the drilling could not be heard in the classroom. Mr. Wild, speaking in rebuttal as the applicant, discussed the possible locations within the site for the core -hole, so as to conform to the requirements of the fire code. He stated that the requirements for the drilling of a core -hole, however, by the State Division of Oil and Gas, were not the same as for a producing well. Captain Hill advised that a determination of this factor would have to be determined by Chief Petroff. City Attorney Martin advised that we are dealing with the code that is the law of this City; that we are trying to measure distances by scale on a piece of paper on the wall, and that we are in danger of violating our own ordinance, which none of us want to do; that in connection with this and other problems which have arisen, he would like an opportunity to study the matter and would recommend that the Public Hearing be carried over for the purpose of analysis of the fire prevention code and our own code in connection with this particular permit. Council Minutes, February 25, 1970 - Page 5 John Spangler, Standard Oil representative, answered queries of the Council relative to noise involved in pulling and stacking pipe. He advised that it takes approximately 1 1/4 minutes for each 90' length of pipe; that these lengths are swung over and stacked; and that the skill of the operator is depended upon for minimum noise. Other inquiries were also answered relative to more enclosure and general operations. Councilman Tyrell moved to retain the Public Hearing as open, and to continue the matter to Tuesday, March 3, 1970, at 7:30 p.m. Councilman Beckley seconded the motion which carried unanimously. 5. ADJOURNMENT: The meeting was adjourned by Mayor Harker at 10:10 p.m. The next regular meeting of the City Council will be held on Tuesday, March 3, 1970, at 7:30 p.m. in the Council Chambers of the City Hall, 5938 N. Kauffman Avenue. MAYOR ATTEST: