The Culver City Council voted unanimously last week to extend a temporary moratorium on drilling, re-drilling and deepening of oil wells within its jurisdiction.

Without hesitation — and hardly any comment on an issue that has been hotly debated — the council instituted a one-year moratorium that will prevent existing oil operators, as well as future applicants, from drilling within the city’s jurisdiction.

The Inglewood Oil Field — also known as the Baldwin Hills Oil Field — has been a source of contention for residents, the County of Los Angeles and oil operator Plains Exploration and Production (PXP) for several years.

While PXP wants to proceed with oil drilling and the drilling of new wells, many residents have grown concerned over impacts they say have resulted from such activities — including poor air quality, noise, gas emissions, spills, odors, property erosion and upper respiratory problems.

“Without the extension of the moratorium there is a current and immediate threat to the public health, safety and welfare of the community,” said City Attorney Heather Baker, “as permits for drilling would be required to be processed under the city’s existing regulations, which do not provide adequate protection for the communities surrounding the oil field.”

In August 2009, the council adopted an interim ordinance which established a 45-day temporary moratorium on the use of land within the city as it relates to drilling, re-drilling and deepening of wells. The period was to allow the city time to reexamine and amend city laws, rules, procedures and fees associated with oil drilling activities. Its goal was to balance the rights of existing operators, future applicants and communities.

Following a follow-up report, the council extended the moratorium again, tacking on an additional 10 months and 15 days. This moratorium is set to expire Aug. 23, which is why the city council was urged by staff to consider yet another extension.

Without the four-fifths vote last Monday, the land in the city would possibly have been home to a number of new wells. According to Baker, PXP submitted four Notices of Intention to Drill New Wells, which were approved Aug. 25, 2009 by the State Division of Oil, Gas and Geothermal Resources (DOGGR), following the initial 45-day moratorium.

PXP then tried to bypass the same moratorium, according to city officials, when it attempted to apply to Culver City for the drilling of three new wells in areas of the oil field that were within its domain. They were not accepted. And in Sept. 2009 PXP filed a fifth Notice of Intention to Drill New Wells. The permit was seeking to drill a new well nearly 10,000 feet into the ground.

Under the latest extension — which expires Aug. 23, 2011 — the city will not accept or consider any oil or gas related applications related to drilling. In terms of changing its rules, the city will now seek more effective regulations that “will likely result in the city amending, repealing and adding provisions to the Culver City Municipal Code, including...the Culver City Zoning Code,” said the staff report.

A draft ordinance amending the city’s zoning code is expected to be considered by the Planning Commission no later than spring 2011.

According to city officials, the city will continue to work with its technical and legal consultants to examine various oil field regulations adopted by the County of Los Angeles, which instituted the Baldwin Hills Community Standards District (CSD) to manage oil operations — putting a cap on the number of new drills and wells, as well as the number of drills that can be operated at a one time — by PXP, the field operator. Additionally, the city will collaborate with PXP to gain their input.

“By working with the county and PXP,” said Baker, “the city is attempting to bring about mutually acceptable and uniform regulations of the oil field, which spans across two jurisdictions — the city and the county.”

A joint letter submitted to the council — signed by Community Health Councils, the Concerned Citizens of South Central Los Angeles and the Natural Resources Defense Council — supported the extension, saying “it is needed to ensure the city has sufficient time to finish the development of oil regulations.”

If the city is to manage oil operations, it will need to revise and set regulations within this extension. Procedures set forth by Government Code Section 65858 only allow the city two extensions. As a consequence, “such moratorium would have no further force and effect two years after its original adoption,” said the staff report.

There are, however, those who would like to see the drilling ban lifted. Resident Sandra Calendar, whose home provides a view of the oil field, leased her mineral rights to PXP and has “an interest in this,” she said.

Added Calendar: “Here we have an opportunity, a resource in the city that doesn’t take money out of anyone’s pocket and it would benefit us all if they found oil and started paying royalties in the city and people spent that money fixing up their homes and raising property values in the area.”