[Oxnard, CA] – At last night’s Oxnard City Council meeting, after hearing from local student activists involved in CFROG’s Environmental Voices Academy and CAUSE, the Oxnard City Council voted unanimously to adopt a resolution calling for the end of oil and gas drilling in California and upholding the law requiring a safety buffer zone between oil drilling and homes/schools on the upcoming November 2024 ballot referendum.
The resolution:
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Urges Governor Newsom and the Ventura County Board of Supervisors to immediately stop issuing new permits for oil and gas production and to accelerate fossil fuel phase out through a just transition that protects workers and frontline communities; and
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Implores Governor Newsom to implement and defend a 3,200ft health and safety setback between fossil fuel extraction sites and sensitive sites; and
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Urges Governor Newsom and the Ventura County Board of Supervisors to hold polluters accountable for the timely and complete plugging of orphan and idle wells; and
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Recognizes climate change and climate justice as issues important to Ventura County; and
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Declares that the City of Oxnard will continue to transition to renewable energy sources with the urgency the climate crisis demands; and
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Declares that, regarding the November 2024 ballot referendum challenging the 2022 law prohibiting new oil and gas wells near homes, schools, and hospitals (SB 1137), the Oxnard City Council supports upholding SB 1137 and opposes repealing SB 1137, and urges a vote to “Keep the Law.”
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This landmark resolution is a step towards a safer and healthier future for Ventura County and California as a whole. Ventura County is the third largest oil and gas producing county in the State of California, as well as the fastest-warming county in all of the lower 48 states in the U.S.A., and is home to many environmental justice communities. By pushing for increased accountability from other elected bodies and the fossil fuel industry, the City of Oxnard (the largest city in Ventura County) is positioning itself as a leader in climate justice, prioritizing the health of its citizens over the profits of industry.
Over 15,700 oil and gas drilling permits have been issued in California since Governor Newsom took office in 2019, despite him positioning himself as a climate champion (FracTracker, 2023). The students behind this campaign cited the devastating impacts that fossil fuel drilling and climate change have on public health, especially for the health of children. Research shows that those who live near drilling sites have increased risk of childhood cancer, asthma, birth defects, and cardiac problems due to high levels of air pollution.
Fifteen year-old Oxnard local, Miguel Heredia, highlighted in his public comment that “Analysis of oil and gas permitting across California shows that more than 8,000 residents of Ventura County live within 2,500 feet of an oil well, 60% of those residents being Latino. I am deeply concerned about the health and wellbeing of not only my friends and family but the community as a whole.”
Oxnard resident, Miguel Heredia, presents his public comment to the City Council.
Sierra Whalen, VCCCD Student Trustee, delivers her public comment.
Sierra Whalen, the recently elected Ventura County Community College District Student Trustee, remarked “Oxnard College students and Oxnard residents are deliberately and disproportionately affected by the fossil fuel industry… These targeted low-income and communities of color should not be stripped of their right to clean air, water, and land. Oxnard should not be treated as a sacrifice-zone.”
Councilmember Arthur Valenzuela Jr., who brought this resolution forward with Councilmember Gabe Teran and Mayor John C. Zargoza, stated during the meeting that “Reducing our dependence on oil and gas in the state of California is a crucial step for the health and safety for Oxnard and Ventura County.” He continued, “Thank you to the CFROG youth for bringing this issue forward and prioritizing protecting our vulnerable communities… I hope that any other youth throughout Oxnard who are watching or are hearing about this resolution see that anyone can bring forward an important issue to the City Council – this is the power of youth.”
Councilmember Teran remarked,“With communities like Oxnard, things have been inequitable, especially in certain neighborhoods and certain communities for a long time. Decisions made decades ago that were done with little regard to public health and public safety, and things that we now, in 2024, are having to deal with… When we look at those decisions that were made many, many decades ago in numerous parts of the city, we still have to deal with it as elected members today. And this [resolution] is one of the ways that we can start to address some of these inequities that happened throughout the city of Oxnard and communities like it.”
Mayor Zargoza commended the students behind this campaign, saying “The intelligence that went into making all of these presentations is really appreciated… Thank you for all of your support and all of your work, and thank you to CFROG for the work that they do to protect the environment.”
The City of Oxnard, joins the City of San Diego, Oxnard Union High School District, San Diego Unified School District, Sweetwater Unified School District, and the University of California Berkeley, who have passed similar resolutions.
Youth activists and staff from CFROG and CAUSE pose with City Council members after the unanimous vote to adopt the resolution. Top from left: Jocelyn Lucas, Anahí Solis, Miguel Heredia, Councilmember Arthur Valenzuela Jr., Rodney Smith, Phu Tran, Councilmember Gabe Teran, Sierra Whalen, Sofi Magallon. Bottom from left: Dries Vergeer, Brooke Balthaser, Abrah Steward, Elise Swarts, Yessica Gonzales, Odette Moran, Elma Del Aguila.
Link to the recording of the public hearing (View the agenda and the resolution)