HomeMy WebLinkAbout2021-123 - Supporting a Ban on New Offshore Oil and Gas DrillingRESOLUTION NO. 2021-123
A RESOLUTION OF THE CITY COUNCIL OF THE CITY
OF NEWPORT BEACH, CALIFORNIA, SUPPORTING A
BAN ON NEW OFFSHORE OIL AND GAS DRILLING
WHEREAS, the City of Newport Beach ("City") and its visitors enjoy California's
beaches and the Pacific Ocean for recreational and commercial activities, all of which
support our local economy;
WHEREAS, our City's residents value our state's ocean and coastal waters,
which provide habitat to a vast array of wildlife including fish, whales, sea turtles, and
birds that depend on a healthy and clean environment;
WHEREAS, in California, hundreds of thousands of jobs and billions of dollars of
the state's gross domestic product depend on clean water, oil -free beaches, and
abundant fish and wildlife;
WHEREAS, offshore oil and gas drilling places coastal communities at economic
and ecological risk from oil spills, threatening the lives and livelihoods of small business
owners, particularly commercial and recreational fishermen;
WHEREAS, past oil spills off the coast have fouled coastal waters and caused
economic and environmental damage to wildlife, closing beaches, and impacting
recreational and commercial activities; and
WHEREAS, the State of California prohibits new oil and gas leasing in State
waters due to the high risk of damage and disruption to the marine environment.
NOW, THEREFORE, the City Council of the City of Newport Beach resolves as
follows:
Section 1: The City Council does hereby support a ban on new offshore oil
and gas drilling in federal and state waters off the California coast.
Section 2: The City Clerk is hereby directed to forward a copy of this
resolution to U.S. Secretary of the Interior Deb Haaland, California Governor Gavin
Newsom, U.S. Senators Dianne Feinstein and Alex Padilla, as well as U.S.
Congressional and state representatives for Newport Beach, and any other interested
parties.
Section 3: The recitals provided in this resolution are true and correct and are
incorporated into the operative part of this resolution.
Resolution No. 2021-123
Page 2of3
Section 4: If any section, subsection, sentence, clause or phrase of this
resolution is, for any reason, held to be invalid or unconstitutional, such decision shall
not affect the validity or constitutionality of the remaining portions of this resolution. The
City Council hereby declares that it would have passed this resolution, and each
section, subsection, sentence, clause or phrase hereof, irrespective of the fact that any
one or more sections, subsections, sentences, clauses or phrases be declared invalid
or unconstitutional.
Section 5: The City Council finds the adoption of this resolution is not subject
to the California Environmental Quality Act ("CEQA") pursuant to Sections 15060(c)(2)
(the activity will not result in a direct or reasonably foreseeable indirect physical change
in the environment) and 15060(c)(3) (the activity is not a project as defined in Section
15378) of the CEQA Guidelines, California Code of Regulations, Title 14, Division 6,
Chapter 3, because it has no potential for resulting in physical change to the
environment, directly or indirectly.
Section 6: This resolution shall take effect immediately upon its adoption by
the City Council, and the City Clerk shall certify the vote adopting the resolution.
ADOPTED this 30th day of November, 2021.
ATTEST:
NFL
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Leilani I. Brown
City Clerk
'pN/A
APPROVED AS TO FORM:
CITY ATTORNEY'S OFFICE
Aaron C. Harp
City Attorney
STATE OF CALIFORNIA
COUNTY OF ORANGE ss.
CITY OF NEWPORT BEACH
I, Leilani I. Brown, City Clerk of the City of Newport Beach, California, do hereby certify that the
whole number of members of the City Council is seven; the foregoing resolution, being Resolution
No. 2021-123 was duly introduced before and adopted by the City Council of said City at a regular
meeting of said Council held on the 301h day of November, 2021; and the same was so passed and
adopted by the following vote, to wit:
AYES: Mayor Brad Avery, Mayor Pro Tem Kevin Muldoon, Council Member Noah Blom,
Council Member Joy Brenner, Council Member Diane Dixon, Council Member
Duffy Duffield, Council Member Will O'Neill
NAYS: None
IN WITNESS WHEREOF, I have hereunto subscribed my name and affixed the official seal of
said City this 15' day of December, 2021.
Leila i I. Br wn
City Clerk
Newport Beach, California