Voters in Hermosa Beach rejected a measure that would have allowed E&B Natural Resources to drill 34 oil wells in the coastal community.

The vote was 3,799 against, with 1,016 in favor. Turnout was comparatively large in the city of 20,000 residents; in other elections across Los Angeles county, less than 9% of eligible voters went to the polls.

Hermosa Beach will have to pay Bakersfield-based E&B Natural Resources a fee of $17.5 million, which was set in a settlement between the city and the company that was drafted in 2012. The city has established a reserve of $6 million, and plans to pay the balance in annual installments of $800,000, according to City Manager Tom Bakaly.