Nine months after the Beverly Hills City Council passed an interim ordinance banning oil extraction in the city post-2016, they finally made it permanent, which means an end to drilling at Beverly Hills High School. However, according to what a city planner told BH Patch, the council can "extend that deadline should there be a finding of public interest." And yes, there is at least some public interest in keeping oil drilling in the schools, from Councilmember John Mirisch, "as well as members of the Board of Education and homeowners who receive royalties from Venoco Inc., which owns the oil well at the high school." BHUSD and the city get somewhere from $700k to $1 million every year from Venoco for the Beverly Hills High lease, and 600 to 700 homeowners also get royalties. (The people for the drilling ban included four councilmembers and a BHHS grad and cancer survivor.)
Still up for debate is the best of both worlds option: slant drilling. Wells would be set up outside the city limits (at least 500 feet from any of Beverly Hills's schools or parks) but tap reserves underneath the city (this is known these days as "drinking your milkshake"). That'd allow the residents, the city, and the BHUSD to keep earning royalties while banishing unsightly derricks. Image via Gabriella Yazickr
· Council Places Permanent Ban on Oil Drilling [BH Patch]
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