Santa Barbara Co. Planning Commission to recommend denying ExxonMobil trucking plan

SANTA BARBARA COUNTY, Calif. - The Santa Barbara County Planning Commission is expected to formally recommend denying ExxonMobil's request to truck oil along Central Coast highways.

The issue was discussed during a lengthy hearing Wednesday.

ExxonMobil wanted to truck oil 24 hours a day along Highways 101 and 166 in order to restart three drilling platforms off the Santa Barbara coast.

The platforms were shut down after the 2015 Refugio pipeline spill.

The plan faced strong opposition from community members who were worried about more possible oil spills, climate change and dangerous oil tanker truck crashes.

Supporters argued it would bring high-paying jobs back to the Central Coast and boost the economy.

The Santa Barbara County Planning Commission was originally set to discuss the matter more on Friday, but that meeting was canceled.

The commission instead voted to continue the item to November 3 and asked staff to draft findings to recommend denying the plan.

Those findings will then be sent to the Santa Barbara County Board of Supervisors as a recommendation.