The City of Signal Hill will hold a second public hearing on June 24 regarding a possible 20-year permit extension to Signal Hill Petroleum.
Over 50 residents and multiple local environmental organizations attended the first public hearing on June 4 to review and ask questions about the drafted Environmental Impact Report. All of those in attendance asked the City to deny the extension, and several residents asked the City during the meeting to hold a second public hearing due to lack of space and public awareness of the meeting.
The second public hearing will be held in the Signal Hill Public Library’s Community Room, which has a capacity of 48 people with tables and chairs, according to the City’s Parks and Recreation Department.
The Signal Tribune emailed Signal Hill Petroleum on June 4 and June 17 to ask for the company’s response to the first public hearing and has not yet heard back.
Public hearings are held in order to give residents the opportunity to ask questions and comment on matters that affect the community. The project under review is the Conditional Use Permit Signal Hill Petroleum has for its seven drilling sites, which contain 62 oil wells.
If approved, Signal Hill Petroleum (SHP) will be able to drill up to 46 new oil wells and build 46 accompanying well cellars across its seven drill sites over the next 20 years. SHP has received 10 permit extensions since 1998, ranging from six months to 10 years.
Signal Hill City Councilmembers will make the ultimate decision of whether to grant the 20-year extension, approve the extension for a shorter period of time or revoke the permit altogether.
The preliminary finding of the report states that the “environmentally superior” option would be to approve the 20-year permit extension. Multiple residents at the June 4 meeting questioned this conclusion, and Signal Hill Community Development Director said the City would attempt to explain it in later public meetings.
Residents who speak at the meeting will have their comments included in the final draft of the Environmental Report, which will be sent to the Planning Commission before the city council reviews the issue.
Those who cannot attend the meeting can submit a written statement, which will also be included in the final report, no later than June 24 at 5 p.m. Statements should be sent to cdoan@cityofsignalhill.org and should include the sender’s name, email, telephone number, address and “RE: Signal Hill Petroleum CUP 97-03 Extension EIR” at the top of the comment.
To send a statement via mail, residents can use this post:
Colleen T. Doan
Community Development Director
2175 Cherry Avenue
Signal Hill, California 90755
View a full copy of the draft EIR by visiting cityofsignalhill.org/612/Current-Projects.
The second public hearing will take place in the Signal Hill Public Library’s Community Room at 1800 E Hill St. from 6 p.m. to 7:30 p.m.