NewThe Planning Division will be presenting modifications of the proposed amendments to the Non-Coastal and Coastal Zoning Ordinances regarding oil and gas conditional use permit terms, sureties, and insurance requirements to the Planning Commission on Thursday, September 21, 2023. Due to the nature of the modifications Planning Division staff is proposing, state law requires that the item be returned to the Planning Commission before being heard by the Board of Supervisors. Specifically, Cal. Gov. Code Section 65857 requires that “any modification of the proposed ordinance…not previously considered by the planning commission during its hearing, shall first be referred to the planning commission for report and recommendation…”
The revisions Planning Division staff is proposing are the result of input by the Planning Commission, the oil and gas industry, community stakeholders, and additional technical analysis completed by staff.
The revised draft ordinances are available below. The staff report will be publicly available on September 14, 2023. Documents will be available on the Planning Commission website at: https://vcrma.org/en/planning-commission.
Background
On November 10, 2020, the Board of Supervisors directed the Resource Management Agency to propose Non-Coastal Zoning Ordinance (NCZO) and Coastal Zoning Ordinance (CZO) amendments that would: (1) limit new discretionary Conditional Use Permits for oil and gas operations to 15 years, (2) increase current County surety and insurance amounts for oil and gas compliance and restoration, and (3) incorporate measures that promote timely permanent plugging and restoration of oil and gas wells idle for 15 years or more.
2023 Proposed Ordinance Amendments
- Proposed Amendments Non-Coastal Zoning Ordinance Clean Version
- Proposed Amendments Non-Coastal Zoning Ordinance Legislative Version
- Proposed Amendments Coastal Zoning Ordinance Clean Version
- Proposed Amendments Coastal Zoning Ordinance Legislative Version
2023 Frequently Asked Questions
2022 Planning Commission Hearings
The Planning Commission conducted a hearing on these proposed ordinance amendments on July 28, 2022. However, a subset of public comments was unintentionally not included in the public record to the Planning Commission. Therefore, the Planning Commission held another hearing on August 18, 2022 to consider this matter.
Hearing Materials For 2022 Hearings
• Link for July 28, 2022 Planning Commission Hearing [See item 7]
• Link for August 18, 2022 Planning Commission Hearing [See item 7]
2022 Public Engagement Meeting
The Ventura County Planning Division hosted a virtual webinar on November 9, 2022 to discuss proposed revisions to oil and gas regulations related to bonds and insurance and the length of permit terms.
- Staff's PowerPoint presentation is available here.
- A recording of the meeting in English is available here.
- A recording of the meeting in Spanish is available here
- Submitted public comments are available here.
Planning Staff Contact:
Please contact staff at This email address is being protected from spambots. You need JavaScript enabled to view it. if you have any questions.