City Council resolution reaffirms ban on coastal oil leases, citing environmental and economic risks after decades of protection
Los Angeles City Councilmembers Traci Park, Tim McOsker and Adrin Nazarian introduced a resolution Tuesday opposing the Trump administration’s push to revive offshore oil and gas drilling along California’s coast, drawing a firm line against what they called a reckless federal proposal.
The trio announced the measure at a press conference on the Venice Pier, flanked by the Pacific Ocean and joined by environmental advocates, business leaders and regional officials. The event highlighted a unified resistance to the plan, which would mark the first new offshore leases in California since 1984, according to internal Department of the Interior draft documents viewed by CBS News.
The resolution reaffirms the city’s long-standing ban on new coastal oil infrastructure, rooted in the 1969 Santa Barbara oil spill and solidified by voter-approved Measure O in 1988, which passed by a 2-to-1 margin under then-Councilmember Marvin Braude.
“Los Angeles will never allow offshore drilling off our coast — not now, not ever,” Park declared. “We won’t invite another kind of disaster.”
McOsker, who represents southern coastal areas including the Port of Los Angeles, criticized the proposal as a setback to the port’s multibillion-dollar shift toward a clean-energy “blue economy,” including zero-emission engines and renewable innovations. “Our coast, our economy and our children’s futures are too valuable to risk,” he said.
The federal Bureau of Ocean Energy Management is preparing to include California waters in a new national leasing program as part of President Donald Trump’s drive to boost domestic fossil fuel output, CBS News reported. Draft documents suggest potential lease sales off California as early as 2027, with companies given five to 10 years to develop sites depending on water depth. The plan also targets waters off New England and the Carolinas, though it excludes Florida for now, amid past bipartisan pushback that forced Trump to impose temporary bans during his first term.
The administration’s effort follows a federal court ruling this month deeming the Biden administration’s withdrawal of 625 million acres along Pacific, Atlantic and Alaska coasts illegal, according to CBS News. It also coincides with the reopening of 1.56 million acres in Alaska’s Arctic National Wildlife Refuge for leasing, a move decried by Democrats like Sen. Edward Markey of Massachusetts as “donor dominance” favoring fossil fuel interests.
Speakers at the pier event amplified the stakes. Santa Monica Mayor Lana Negrete issued a statement praising the coastline as a vital ecosystem for economy and health. The Venice Chamber of Commerce warned of tourism and recreation losses from a potential spill, while the Venice Surfing Association decried risks to water quality and public safety. The Coastal Alliance and Friends of Ballona Wetlands highlighted threats to marine life and restored habitats.
Nazarian, co-author of the resolution, emphasized its role in rallying legal and community opposition from the nation’s second-largest city. Park framed the effort as a nonpartisan stand: “Environmentalists, business owners and public servants standing shoulder to shoulder to defend what generations of Angelenos fought to protect.”
The measure heads to the City Council for consideration, amid a planned public comment period on the federal proposal and two more rounds of review before implementation, per CBS News.
