Eureka City Council members were told at their May 5 meeting that the city’s draft offshore-drilling ordinance would not work as written under the local coastal program, and staff recommended a different path: return with a resolution opposing offshore drilling first, then pursue amendments to the coastal program later.
The item came to council as a report and direction request on a potential ordinance intended to prevent onshore support facilities for offshore drilling, according to the meeting agenda. But during the meeting, staff said the ordinance template could not simply be adopted in its current form because it conflicts with Eureka’s coastal rules, according to the meeting summary.
Instead, staff said the council should come back with a resolution opposing offshore drilling and then work on changes to the local coastal program, the summary said. The materials provided do not specify the exact coastal-program provision that blocks the ordinance or a timetable for the follow-up action.
The offshore-drilling discussion was one part of a meeting that also included proclamations, aging-services presentations, a student housing report and consent-calendar votes.
