The Los Angeles City Council intensified its push to eliminate urban oil drilling on Tuesday, unanimously backing a proposal to wind down wells citywide even as the petroleum industry is expected to fight the move in court.
By a 14-0 vote, council members instructed the city attorney to prepare an ordinance that would ban new oil and gas extraction while designating existing drilling sites as nonconforming uses across Los Angeles.
Councilwoman Katy Yaroslavsky, who has led the effort, said recent changes in state law give Los Angeles a firmer legal foundation to impose lasting limits on oil drilling.
“It’s now unequivocal that cities have the authority to regulate, limit and prohibit oil and gas operations within our jurisdictions,” Yaroslavsky told her colleagues ahead of the vote.
Yaroslavsky cast the proposal as a matter of both legal authority and public health, emphasizing how many Angelenos live close to active oil operations.
“More than half a million Angelenos live within a quarter mile of an oil well, and we’re already paying the price,” she told The California Post after the vote. “The cost shows up in more kids with asthma, more seniors hooked up to oxygen tanks, and more pregnant women facing preterm labor because they happen to live near an oil rig.”
She also criticized the oil industry’s resistance to the planned phaseout, accusing companies of deflecting attention from health concerns in nearby neighborhoods.
“Oil companies would rather scare people about gas prices than answer for why their operations are making communities sick,” Yaroslavsky said.
The move lands amid ongoing anxiety over California gas prices.
Industry groups have warned that restrictions on local oil production could further increase reliance on imported crude oil.
Los Angeles has more than 2,000 active oil wells, many located near homes, schools, parks and places of worship, according to city officials.
Tuesday’s action does not immediately shut down those wells.
Instead, it begins the process of adopting an ordinance that would prohibit new drilling and place existing operations on a path toward eventual phaseout.
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The vote marks the city’s latest attempt to eliminate urban oil drilling.
In 2022, Los Angeles adopted an ordinance designed to phase out oil extraction citywide.
Oil companies, including Warren Resources, E&B Natural Resources Management Corp. and Hillcrest Beverly Oil Corp., challenged the measure in court.
The companies said the city had failed to adequately review the impacts of the ban. A Los Angeles Superior Court judge later ruled against the city, preventing the ordinance from taking effect.
Since then, state lawmakers have approved legislation aimed at giving local governments greater authority over oil and gas operations.
In 2024, Gov. Gavin Newsom signed Assembly Bill 3233, authored by Assemblymember Dawn Addis, which grants cities and counties broader authority to regulate, limit or prohibit oil and gas activities within their jurisdictions.
Yaroslavsky said the legislation provided a path for Los Angeles to revisit its drilling ban.
“Today Los Angeles is making a decision that aligns with our need to turn the page on urban oil drilling,” she said. “The absence of an enforceable oil ordinance has had real consequences for our communities.”
She also acknowledged the city could face another legal challenge as it moves forward.
“The work, of course, does not end here,” Yaroslavsky said. “There are other tools available to help reach our shared goal of eliminating urban oil drilling from our communities, and I’m committed to using them.”
The council also approved environmental findings associated with the proposal and directed the city attorney to prepare the ordinance for future consideration.
According to city planning documents, the ordinance would prohibit new oil and gas extraction throughout Los Angeles and classify existing extraction activities as nonconforming uses in all zones.
Councilwoman Traci Park was absent during Tuesday’s vote.
The ordinance is expected to return to the council later this summer for a final vote.
