The Los Angeles City Council unanimously advanced an ordinance to stop new oil and gas drilling and phase out existing production over 20 years, reviving a similar ban overturned by a judge and now bolstered by new state law.
By the time the vote was called, it felt less like a policy debate and more like a long-fought return trip. On Tuesday, the Los Angeles City Council unanimously advanced an ordinance meant to halt new oil and gas drilling and phase out existing production over the next 20 years.
Los Angeles is home to more than 2,000 active oil wells, and the measure would make the city the largest in the United States to phase out existing oil wells. For residents who have spent years living with drilling close to daily life, the stakes are personal and immediate.
Councilmember Katy Yaroslavsky, speaking during the meeting, said the move aligns with Los Angeles’ need to “turn the page on urban oil drilling.” She added that “the absence of an enforceable oil ordinance has had real consequences for our communities.”
The new ordinance revives the effort behind a similar ban passed in 2022. That earlier ban was struck down by a judge after legal challenges from the oil and gas industry. A Los Angeles County Superior Court judge invalidated the 2022 law in 2024. ruling that the state. not the city. has jurisdiction over petroleum production.
This time, the city is pressing forward with a different legal foundation. Shortly after the court decision. state legislators advanced Assembly Bill 3233. which reaffirmed city and county authority to regulate oil and gas activity. The ordinance being considered now is written by the Department of City Planning.
Under the new measure. prohibitions would apply to new oil and gas extraction. including drilling. redrilling. or deepening existing oil wells for production purposes. It also designates all existing and active idle wells as “nonconforming uses.” That designation would mean the wells may only operate during the phaseout period and would no longer be compliant with current zoning.
Warren Resources, an oil company that brought legal challenges against the prior ban, did not immediately respond to a request for comment. The company operates a large oil field in Wilmington, with much of it beneath the city of Long Beach, but it also extends under Los Angeles.
The council’s push also lands in communities where wells operate near schools, homes, and parks. Many wells are concentrated in low-income areas and communities of color. including Wilmington and the harbor district. West L.A. and South L.A. Residents in those areas have long reported respiratory issues, headaches, and throat irritation. Studies have found oil wells can emit carcinogens and are linked to adverse health effects.
Ahead of Tuesday’s vote, Silvia Esparza, a South L.A. resident and a member of environmental justice group Stand-L.A., said in a news conference that “This ordinance is such an important step toward giving every frontline community in Los Angeles access to clean air.”
Ashley Hernandez. a Wilmington resident and organizer with the nonprofit Communities for a Better Environment. described the daily reality of living alongside drilling. She said bloody noses and noxious fumes were a regular part of life in the neighborhood when she was growing up. Hernandez also pointed to other threats affecting residents. including the recent oil pipeline rupture that sent crude into the L.A. River and the ongoing cold storage warehouse fire in Boyle Heights that is spewing toxic smoke.
“I’m here to remind L.A. city and these toxic neighbors that Wilmington residents are more important than any ‘black gold’ under their homes,” Hernandez said. “We need our city to protect our families now and to stop the oil industry’s reign of power in our city. A passage of the oil phaseout ordinance today gives the city a chance to correct this wrong.”.
The ordinance must pass a second vote before final adoption later this summer. The council’s approval on Tuesday puts Los Angeles on the path to phasing out production—again—after a court decision forced the city to revisit how it can regulate urban oil. For residents who have lived with the consequences of drilling for years. the question now is not whether the city will try. It’s whether this time the law will hold.
Los Angeles City Council oil wells oil and gas drilling phaseout ordinance Katy Yaroslavsky Wilmington environmental justice Stand-L.A. Communities for a Better Environment Assembly Bill 3233 Warren Resources