The property of any city may be leased for the purpose of producing or effecting the production of minerals, oil, gas or other hydrocarbon substances for a period not to exceed 35 years unless such property shall have been dedicated or acquired as a park, highway, street, walk or public playground, in which event such property may be leased for such purposes provided that the use of such property for park, highway, street, walk or public playground purposes shall not be substantially interfered with thereby; provided however, that if in the judgment of the governing body of any such park, highway, street, walk or public playground, drilling for oil or gas would not substantially interfere with the use of such property for park, highway, street, walk or playground purposes, then any such lease on any such property shall provide that drilling for oil or gas beneath the surface of such property shall be done by means of slant drilling from surface locations outside the outer boundaries of any such property, or from designated locations inside the outer boundaries of such property, which inside locations will not interfere substantially with the use of such property for such park, highway, street, walk or playground purposes. Such governing body shall prescribe such terms and conditions in such lease to the end that any drilling and producing operations will interfere as little as is possible with the use of the property for such park, highway, street, walk or playground purposes.
The amendment of this section made at the 1959 Regular Session of the Legislature does not constitute a change in, but is declaratory of, the preexisting law.
Notwithstanding any other provision of this section, no tide or submerged lands owned or under the jurisdiction of any city shall be leased for the exploration for, drilling for or production of petroleum products within the boundaries of the areas of the County of Los Angeles described in subdivision (a) of Section 6871.2 unless such lands are within one nautical mile of the ordinary high water mark, the applicable conditions of the Public Resources Code and requirements of the State Lands Commission have been met, and the drilling for oil and gas deposits is to be done by means of slant drilling from an upland site.
(Amended by Stats. 1970, Ch. 1438.)