Marin County Supes Ensure Voter Approval Needed for Offshore Drilling Infrastructure
SAN RAFAEL (CBS SF) -- The Marin County Board of Supervisors passed a voter-approval mechanism on Tuesday for any future development of onshore facilities supporting offshore oil and gas exploration.
The ordinance ensures that any zoning changes for such developments will not be allowed unless they are passed by the majority of Marin voters. Currently, the development of onshore facilities support offshore oil and gas exploration is prohibited across Marin County zoning districts.
According to County Counsel Brian Washington, the ordinance was passed in order to align Marin laws on the subject with other counties across California and to protect Marin County's coastline, water, agricultural lands, tourism, air quality, recreation, biodiversity, and quality of life.
Counties in California that have adopted similar ordinances include San Francisco, Santa Cruz, Sonoma, San Mateo, Monterey, San Luis Obispo, San Diego, Mendocino, and Humboldt, according to Marin County.
The ordinance will come into effect 30 days after its passage.