Paso mayor shifts stance on oil trains as council skips chance to oppose project

The Paso Robles City Council on Tuesday again declined to take a strong stance on local oil-by-rail politics — over the objections of Mayor Steve Martin, a county Board of Supervisors candidate who has changed his stance on the trains.

Council members voted 4-1 in favor of writing a letter to the Board of Supervisors expressing their concerns about crude oil-toting trains moving through the city. They also plan to contact Union Pacific Railroad regarding a trestle bridge near 4th and Pine streets — which trains use to cross a narrow lane of traffic below — after residents suggested it was unsafe.

The meeting marked the first time the council has addressed oil trains since the county Planning Commission voted on Oct. 5 to reject a planned 1.3-mile rail spur from the Nipomo Mesa Phillips 66 Co. refinery to its main line. Although Paso Robles is more than 50 miles up the road from the proposed project, trains could travel through the city on their way to the South County refinery.

Phillips 66 officials have until Thursday to appeal the project to the Board of Supervisors.

Martin, who cast the sole no vote on the council’s action, said in the past he would support the project if elected as a supervisor, as long as it was deemed safe and wouldn’t have adverse environmental impacts. But on Tuesday, he came out strongly against oil trains traveling through Paso Robles, to the applause of dozens of concerned residents who passionately urged council members to take a stronger stance on the issue.

Residents who spoke pushed council members to officially support the Planning Commission’s rejection of the the project and denounce oil trains.

“I think we have to take into account the sheer number of people who are interested in this issue,” Martin said, in explaining his position shift.

On Wednesday, Martin also told The Tribune he would “most likely” vote against the project as a supervisor, in light of the Planning Commission’s decision. He said he voted against the council’s action because he now thinks the city should oppose oil trains in Paso Robles entirely.

Council members chose not to take a position on the project when it was last discussed in April 2015, instead opting to write a letter to the U.S. Office of Management and Budget that suggested tighter restrictions on oil transportation, enhanced train safety, train speed limits and better training for emergency responders.

Councilmen Steve Gregory, Fred Strong and John Hamon all said they were hesitant to become involved in county affairs and, as a result, supported the softer approach.

“It’s one of those things where you’re damned if you do and damned if you don’t,” Hamon said.

Strong suggested lobbying for oil train safety at the federal level would be a better strategy for concerned residents, as local governments have relatively little control over railways, which are considered part of interstate transit systems. He also said oil trains already travel through the county on their way to other destinations, such as Los Angeles.

“It only means they won’t come down those tracks to go to Nipomo,” Strong said.

This story was originally published October 19, 2016 at 4:21 PM with the headline "Paso mayor shifts stance on oil trains as council skips chance to oppose project."