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:.
I think it might be well also in items of
general interest, as this is, if the editor of the Herald
would put these notices in general news form on the front
page.
There are a couple of items which haven't been
brought up here tonight, which were disclosed at the Planni
Commission meeting. If you read this request for a variance
closely, the variance which the applicants are requesting
for permission to drill for oil and hydrocarbons and all
the associated business that goes with it along the entire
westerly edge of E1 Segundo, you will see that at the same
time they are asking for a permit to drill a well in this
one particular spot. I am referring now to Applicant's
Exhibit No. 4. How many additional wells might be drilled
if they should discover some oil here is a question which
I raised at the Planning Commission meeting, and there is
apparently not a good answer for that. There are obviously
additional wells that could be drilled there if there was
sufficient oil under there to make it worthwhile.
Incidentally, in looking over the Minutes of
the Planning Commission meeting, I had quite a lengthy
testimony at this Planning Commission meeting, and my
testimony was cut down to the two sentences in the Official
,Minutes of that meeting. I kind of object to that, because
I know that my testimony was a lot longer than two sentences,
because the Chairman of the meeting made me sit down because
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I was talking so long; (Laughter.)
The other important item in this whole problem
is this matter of leases. The Pauley interests have
owned for several years the lease on the City of Los Angele .
to pull oil from under Hyperion and this area adjacent to
Hyperion on the north. That lease expires in thirteen days
If Pauley does not drill within that time period, he loses
that lease and it reverts back to the City of Los Angeles.
So it is rather obvious as to why this intense pressure is
being brought to bear at this time. That lease has been
owned for a good many years, but apparently, for some reason
or other, it was discovered only recently that it expires
in thirteen days so there is a lot of pressure to drill
that well or at least to go through the motions of drilling
there, so that they can retain the right of further explora-
tion of that territory.
In the Planning Commission hearing it was brought
out by the Pauley representative that there is very slight
chance of any oil being under E1 Segundo. They are inter-
ested in the oil that they feel is under Hyperion. That
is where they expect to get the oil. But they cannot get
the right from the City of Los Angeles to erect the necessar
oil rigs and all the rest that goes•with•'it on the City of
Los Angeles property.
Now, there is a question of space down there, but
actually I believe the reason that the City of Los Angeles
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DAVID ETTLESON, OFFICIAL COURT R[PORT[R • MUTUAL 77BO
WS
1 will not give them permission to drill on Hyperion is that
2 they expect to make a park out of that and beautify the
s Sewer Farm, and they don't want oil wells over there to mar
; the beauty of that particular spot. (Laughter and applause.)
So, since they can't get this permission from
Los Angeles, the only alternative that Pauley has is to
back up into adjacent territory and try to get permission
I there. The only adjacent territory from which it is
I practical to drill is E1 Segundo. Hence, this whole opera -
tion.
As to this question of National Defense, I knew
that was going to come up. If there is a question of
National Defense involved, the scarcity of materials and
all the rest of it that goes with the drilling of a well,
it would be uneconomical from the standpoint of material
cost, labor and all the rest of it, to have to go away
from the city where the oil is and drill, and then go off
at an angle. If it is a question of National Defense that
is really involved here, that oil well should be put
straight down from Hyperion,the shortest way to the oil.
Let's save the steel and the cost of labor and
all the rest of it that goes with it! (Applause.)
It is rather obvious to me, from the testimony
that has been presented here, that what is involved here
is the right of a few people who own land, undeveloped land
in this area, which they have bought on speculation, it is
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the right of those people against the right of a large
number of homeowners who have located here in E1 Segundo,
built their homes here by their sweat and toil and have
developed those homes and the building of those residences
for their children. Those two rights are in conflict now.
The speculator wants to realize on their speculation; the
homeowners are not worried particularly about the value of
this or that that is involved here, but they want to keep
this as a desirable residential community, which will
continue to grow and develop as a residential community.
Obviously, anything in the nature of drilling oil wells
is going to reduce the value of the property as residential
property.
I would like to add just one comment. Several
suggestions have been made here -- I believe first by Mr:
Eastman -- that this question be put to the voters of E1
Segundo. I also wish to make that suggestion. I don't know
whether it is in order. If it is so, I would like to make
a motion that the Council consider putting this problem to
the voters in a special election in the City of El Segundo!
(Applause.)
MYOR SELBY: Is there anyone else who wishes to
speak on behalf of the opponents?
MRS. ESTHER L. WIXON: I live at G�9 West PA7_m_
I have been sworn.
About four years ago we came here to El Segundo
261 long run it would become a desirable residential area and
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DAVID ETTLESON. OFFICIAL COURT W�PORT<R . MLITUAL 77AC
i
1 and after looking around and especially investigating the
R schools, we decided it would be a very desirable residential
3 neighborhood, and we purchased a group of four lots at the
I top of Palm. I have a beautiful view of Hyperion, the dump,
the sewage, and everything else, but I still feel that it
is going to be a good residential neighborhood.
Incidentally, last spring I sold one of my lots.
I have the mineral rights, but I did not retain them on that
one lot because I had enough faith in our community planning
that'I felt at that time, it would remain an R -1 zone. When
we purchased the thing, there was no zoning on it at all.
In fact, we had thought at one time of building several
apartments on there, but we decided to abide by the Planning
Commission, so we didn't contest it in any way.
We felt in not holding back the mineral rights,
that there wasn't very much sense in doing so. We had gotte
them and anyone purchasing them was entitled to have them,
if they wanted them. In the event that the City ever plans
to develop the area, they would share just as much as I
would, and I wouldn't be taking it away from them.
But we have three children and we feel that the
schools are going to really amount to something here, and
we have put a good deal of money, time and labor intoour
house. We have had it referred to as Nixon's Folly" and
"Hyperion Heights" by our friends, but we felt that in the
long run it would become a desirable residential area and
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DAVID ETTLESON. OFFICIAL r-M.— n..r.e _ _.... _-
8
1 it would be worthwhile.
2 So I object to Resolution No. 87, because I want
3 to keep E1 Segundo just as it is! (Applause.)
4 MAYOR SELBY: Is there anybody else on behalf of
5 the opponents?
6 MR. A. BEALL: I reside At r)4r, utii,.roe+ —A r
7 have been sworn.
3 I think that the zoning for which we worked
three years ago in this town is in jeopardy. We worked very
I hard for it. We had Mr. Whitnall down here and we had
several meetings. The meetings continued to grow and grow
until finally we ended up with a meeting in the High School.
But we did get the zoning question settled, or so that
was what we thought, that it was settled at that time.
Those restrictions put on oil drilling were
pretty stringent and I don't believe that the Pauley inter-
ests were present at that time, but Loftus was there, who
owns the site on which the well is at present.
But the thing is: those people admitted tonight
that they have had a drilling planned under the City of..
Los Angeles for seven years; that is, four years before
we had zoning, in which they could have developed that land;
and they have had three years since zoning to develop that
land and have not done so. Now they come up to a final dead-
line and are trying to ram it down the throats of our
. civic Council, our Planning Commission and the people in
25 controlled by oil interests. That property is locatea in
26 Los Angeles. And these people want to prospect for oil in
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DAVID ETTLESON. OFFICIAL COUNT R--.
i•
1 El Segundo.
2 _ _ I,never knew anything about zoning or this
3 variance that they ask for until Monday, the week that it
4 was handed to the City Council on Wednesday. And at that
time, several of the people heard about it and became
interested. I talked over the phone to one of the men on
r the Planning Commission. He didn't think it would come up
that Wednesday night at the City Council. And he also told
I me, he said, `Well, I think it will be a dry hole anyhow."
But I am going on the assumption that that well
will not be a dry hole; that it will be a gusher and as
such they will not stop with drilling one well, but there
will be wells all across the westerly section of E1 Segundo.
Because what they have asked for is the right to drill one
exploratory well in the City of Los Angeles. Then they
will have to bottom a well -- they don't say how deep
or where -- in E1 Segundo, and then they can drill again
under Hyperion, and they can keep that up indefinitely
as long as they are producing oil.
Which admits that their primary interest is oil
in Los.Angeles, not in El Segundo. And, as Mr. Jones said
tonight, it is possible for them to drill for that oil from
the north section,on the north side rather of Imperial
Boulevard. That property we know now is oilproperty and is
controlled by oil interests. That property is located in
Los Angeles. And these people want to prospect for oil in
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Los Angeles.
Therefore, it is logical to assume that the place
for them to go to get a permit is not the City of E1 Segundc
but to the City of Los Angeles. Apparently they haven't
been able to persuade the Council of the City of Los Angeles
or the Planning Commission of Los Angeles to give them
that permit. So they are coming down here to El Segundo
and are trying to upset the plans and the master plan, you
might call it, of the City of E1 Segundo, for the develop-
ment of this town.
This town has grown from about - thirty -five
hundred people when we came here ten years ago to now it is
estimated at nine thousand, and businessmen and people
around here who are well acquainted with the district will
tell you that It will grow from twelve thousand to sixteen
thousand people as a residential district. That is, what
residential district we have left. For we are surrounded
on the south by the Standard Oil Refinery, on the east by
property which is properly zoned manufacturing, and on the
north by the property which is controlled by the oil inter-
ests now. The only thing we have open, and not much of
that on Hyperion, is the west. And if we get oil wells in
the west, then we are completely surrounded by manufacturing
interests.
And I say it behooves the town to try to preserve
a little bit of their territory to develop into residential
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nAV[Pf FTTI cc
nr RKrQRTER - MUTUAL 7789
88
1 districts. And this oil situation which they have asked for
2 here can be a creeping thing. They won't stop with one
3 oil well if they get any oil at all, because then they will
4 develop oil all through the west part of town.
5 The next from that to the west
part of town is
6 to jog on over into the east part of town because oil has
7 been and is still being produced over there. And it is a
8 pretty well -known fact that oil companies -- and I believe
9 even Mr. Bennett tonight said he was in the business of
10 deepening oil wells and putting them back on production --
.1 which proves that it is possible to go into these old oil
2 wells out here on the east side of town and deepen those
3 oil wells and put them back into production.
4 In other words, you have a nice residential
district over here in the east part of town but it won't
be nice long. Those people won't be able to resell their
property. They won't even be able to develop it to the
best of their own advantage. That property out on the
east part of town, which I have known and don't expect to
a
have any of, is consideredApretty nice residential district.
And if they want oil badly enough in the City of E1 Segundo,
they can go over here -- I would like to point out on this
Exhibit 4, I believe it is -- they can go over in this
area (indicating on Exhibit 4) and they can whipstock, they
admit that, even Tom Jones admitted it tonight, it is
Possible for them to whipstock into this, and he has admitted
"" I + j _� _"-Y -J-V— — '--U • j —LAU —U Wi j vane Waa . v , WV___ -j 6" "
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DAVID ETTLESON. OFFICIAL COURT REPORTER - MUTUAL 7789
to me before this that they can whipstock if they want to
all over town from there and get what oil is in there.
But this is where they are interested in oil. And I say,
let us preserve our zoning -- it is about -- I don't know
the exact time -- but approximately two years ago that Mr.
Taylor, a plumber here in town, wanted to expand his busines
He is located on Standard Street and he was next to a C -2
zone. His request was not much. They wanted to expand the
building and enclose it, as it wasn't large enough. At
that time the City Council -- no, the Planning Commission,
but it was brought up to the City Council for a final
decision -- saw fit to turn this down because they figured
it was not to the benefit of the people as a whole. In
other words, they were preserving the integrity of zoning
in El Segundo. Unless it is done now, unless they preserve
the integrity of El Segundo now, the people will lose
faith in zoning. They will not know whether they can build
here or there, or wherever it is.
It-so happens that the thing they are asking
for is to jump from an R -1 classification clear down to an
M -2 classification. If you grant them the right for an M -2
zone, a variance, then what is to be expected? Somebody
may come along and say, "I want to put a slaughter -house
.out there." That comes under an M -2 zone also. Or, "Can
I put any type of heavy industry out there ?" Will they get
the same consideration? It is a question that should be