SAN FRANCISCO  It seemed like a symbolic tipping point for the nation in August when, in the midst of record high gasoline prices and a presidential campaign, the Santa Barbara County Board of Supervisors abandoned its longtime opposition to offshore oil drilling.

But six months later, with oil prices less than half what they were last summer, the board met on the issue again on Tuesday and reverted to its traditional stance, approving a resolution against offshore drilling in federal waters by a 3-to-2 vote.

“I just feel this is not our future,” said Supervisor Doreen Farr, who voted for the resolution.

Santa Barbara’s longstanding antipathy to drilling traces back to a huge 1969 oil spill off the city’s coast that helped galvanize the environmental movement.

Ms. Farr, who won election to the board in November, replaced Brooks Firestone, who in August cast the decisive vote in favor of drilling. At the time, Mr. Firestone, who did not seek re-election, cited the importance of drilling to the economy and to reducing the nation’s dependence on foreign energy sources.