COMMUNITY DEVELOPMENT
150 City Park Way • Brentwood, California 94513
Phone: 925-516-5405
e-mail: [email protected]
NOTICE OF PUBLIC HEARING
Notice is hereby given that the City Council of the City of Brentwood will, at 7:00 p.m. or as soon thereafter as the normal course of business permits, meet at the Council Chambers, located at 150 City Park Way, in Brentwood, on August 8, 2023, and hold a public hearing to consider:
An ordinance enacting a permanent ban on new oil and gas development and operations in the city of Brentwood (RZ 23-003); and an ordinance amending Chapter 17.680 of the Brentwood Municipal Code to impose additional regulations and requirements on existing oil and gas development and operations in the city of Brentwood (RZ 23-004).
An original interim urgency ordinance imposing a moratorium on new oil and gas development, with an effective period of 45 days, was adopted by the City Council in accordance with Government Code section 65858 on April 12, 2022.
The moratorium was subsequently extended for a period of 10 months and 15 days, pursuant to section 65858, on May 24, 2022, and for a final period of one year, pursuant to section 65858, on March 28, 2023. The two ordinances now proposed for adoption will (1) enact a permanent ban on new oil and gas development and operations in the city of Brentwood, making existing uses legal nonconforming in nature, and (2) amend the current City regulations on existing oil and gas development and operations, codified in BMC Chapter 17.680, to impose additional requirements that better safeguard the public health and safety; this ordinance will take effect only in the event that the permanent ban is repealed or otherwise invalidated in whole or in part.
The adoption of the proposed ordinances, including the approval of the Zoning Code Amendment, is a discretionary action by the City Council, and therefore, subject to consideration under the California Environmental Quality Act (CEQA). Both proposed ordinances have been assessed in accordance with the authority and criteria contained in CEQA, the State CEQA Guidelines, and the environmental regulations of the City. Pursuant to CEQA and the CEQA Guidelines, it has been determined that both ordinances – prohibiting new oil and gas developments and operations, and establishing new regulations and requirements for existing operations – are exempt from CEQA, including without limitation, requirements for CEQA review, pursuant to the following exemptions: the “common sense” exemption under CEQA Guidelines Section 15061(b)(3), and the following categorical exemption classes under CEQA Guidelines Section 15061(b)(2): Class 1 - Existing Facilities (CEQA Guidelines Section 15301), Class 4 – Alterations to Land (CEQA Guidelines Section 15304) and Class 8 - Actions by Regulatory Agencies for the Protection of the Environment (CEQA Guidelines Section 15308).
On May 2, 2023, the Planning Commission adopted a Resolution recommending the City Council adopt an ordinance enacting a permanent ban on new oil and gas development and operations in the city of Brentwood (RZ 23-003), as well as a Resolution recommending the City Council adopt an ordinance amending Chapter 17.680 of the Brentwood Municipal Code to impose additional regulations and requirements on existing oil and gas development and operations in the city of Brentwood (RZ 23-004).
Applicant: City of Brentwood
How to View and Participate
The public is invited to participate in the City Council meeting and offer comments of up to 5 minutes (or as may otherwise be determined by the Council) using any of the following methods:
1. IN PERSON:
a. Members of the public can provide in-person comments in the Council Chambers.
Members of the public are encouraged, but not required, to fill out a speaker card. The Council Chambers will have seating available for members of the public to attend in person up to full seating capacity.
2. REMOTE:
a. Zoom: www.brentwoodca.gov/vcc or Zoom Webinar ID: 760 1397 0037 b. Zoom Phone Numbers. Dial Toll Free: (833) 548-0276 or (833) 548-0282 or (877) 853- 5247.
c. During the meeting, each period for public comment will be announced, and participant may use the “Raise Hand” feature on Zoom to request to speak. If calling in via Zoom use *9 to raise and lower your hand. The meeting host will call on you, by name, and enable your microphone when it is your turn to speak. In order to ensure the orderly administration of the meeting using this method, providing your name is encouraged, but is not required. (If you need instructions on how to use this feature, please contact the City Clerk by noon of the meeting date at [email protected] or 925.516.5182.)
3. E-MAIL:
a. Public comments can also be submitted via e-mail to [email protected]. Any public comments received up until 3:00 p.m. of the meeting date will be:
1. distributed to the Council via email before the meeting,
2. posted online for public inspection at:
www.brentwoodca.gov/meetings, and
3. later summarized in the meeting minutes.
b. As e-mails containing public meeting comments are part of the official record, note that personal contact information may be published if it is included with your e-mail.
4. TO WATCH OR LISTEN ONLY:
a. The public may view the meeting via one-way video feed by selecting the video option at the City Council Agendas’ link on the City webpage at www.brentwoodca.gov or via the City’s YouTube Channel: https://www.youtube.com/c/cityofbrentwoodca Public comments received after 3:00 p.m. of the meeting date, but prior to the start of the meeting, will be emailed to the City Council, posted online within one day following the meeting and will be summarized in the meeting minutes. As a courtesy and technology permitting, members of the public may continue to provide live remote oral public comment via the City’s Zoom Platform. However, the City cannot guarantee that the public’s access to teleconferencing technology will be uninterrupted, and technical difficulties may occur from time to time. In those instances, so long as the public may still attend the meeting in person, the meeting will continue. To ensure that the City Council receives your comments prior to taking action, you are strongly encouraged to submit them in advance of the meeting by 3:00 p.m. As e-mails containing public meeting comments are part of the official record, note that personal contact information may be published if it is included with your e-mail.
In addition, any other disclosable public records related to an agenda item for the open session of this meeting distributed to all or a majority of the City Council less than 72 hours before any meeting will be made available online shortly thereafter.
There is a 90-day limit for the filing of a challenge in court to certain City decisions that require a hearing by law, the receipt of evidence, and the exercise of discretion. The 90-day limit begins on the date the decision is final (Code of Civil Procedure §1094.6). Moreover, if you challenge this action in court, you may be limited to raising only those issues you or someone else raised at the public hearing described in this notice, or in written correspondence delivered to the Brentwood City Council at, or prior to, the public hearing.
Further information may be obtained from Planning Manager Erik Nolthenius [(925) 516-5137 or [email protected]] in the Community Development Department of the City of Brentwood.