LA goes to war with oil companies as city leaders move to phase out much-needed operations

The Los Angeles City Council launched a new offensive against urban oil drilling Tuesday, voting unanimously to advance a plan that would phase out wells across the city despite an expected legal challenge from the industry.In a 14-0 vote, council members directed the city attorney to draft an ordinance that would prohibit new oil and gas extraction and classify existing drilling operations as nonconforming uses throughout the city.Councilwoman Katy Yaroslavsky, the driving force behind the measure, said changes in state law have cleared the way for Los Angeles to restrict oil drilling once and for all.“It’s now unequivocal that cities have the authority to regulate, limit and prohibit oil and gas operations within our jurisdictions,” Yaroslavsky told colleagues before the vote.She framed the issue as both a legal and public health matter, pointing to the number of residents living near active drilling sites.“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.”Yaroslavsky also took aim at the oil industry’s opposition to the phaseout effort.“Oil companies would rather scare people about gas prices than answer for why their operations are making communities sick,” she 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 ope...