Goleta City Council Unanimously Opposes New Offshore Oil and Gas Lease Sales

The Goleta City Council has opposed new oil lease sales and gas activity in all offshore areas of California. 

On December 16, 2025, the City Council unanimously approved a resolution opposing the recent proposal by the U.S. Secretary of the Interior that includes six offshore oil and gas lease sales along the Pacific Coast, the City of Goleta announced in a social media post. 

The leases are expected to begin as early as 2027, the post added. 

The Goleta City Council is making it known its position on new offshore oil and gas leases in federal waters. At last night’s December 16th meeting, the Council unanimously approved a resolution opposing the proposal recently announced by the U.S. Secretary of the Interior that… pic.twitter.com/R67LhG9uNx

— City of Goleta (@CityOfGoleta) December 17, 2025

Section 18 of the Outer Continental Shelf (OCS) Lands Act empowers the Secretary of the Interior to approve a schedule of OCS oil and gas lease sales for five years, according to a staff report.

The Bureau of Ocean Energy Management (BOEM) develops the National OCS Oil and Gas Leasing Program, advises the secretary, and administers the program once it is adopted. 

The City of Goleta’s 2025 Legislative Platform Section 5 includes a provision to oppose legislation that grants new oil drilling, well leases, hydraulic fracturing, or any other high-intensity petroleum operations off the California coast, the report noted. 

If the City Council adopts the resolution, staff will send a copy to the BOEM, the report said. 

As an alternative, the City Council can make changes to the resolution before it is adopted, or may not adopt the resolution at this time, the report said.  

During a City Council meeting on December 2, 2025, Councilmember Luz Reyes-Martín sought concurrence to add a resolution opposing the offshore oil leases in federal waters to the City Council’s agenda. His request was concurred by Councilmember James Kyriaco. 

The resolution has no direct fiscal impact other than staff time, the report mentioned. 

Recalling the devastating impacts of the oil spill at Union Oil’s Platform A in January 1969, the staff report noted that the spill led to over 3 million gallons of crude oil leaking into the Santa Barbara Channel.

The oil spill killed thousands of marine animals, and caused lasting ecological and economic consequences. 

In May 2015, more than 120,000 gallons of oil were released near the Refugio State Beach when the Las Flores Pipeline System ruptured, damaging local fisheries, marine ecosystems, and coastal tourism, the report said. 

National OCS Program 

The Trump administration has been keen on reopening oil drilling off the California coast. 

The Department of the Interior’s Draft Proposed Program proposes to open federal waters, including the Santa Barbara Channel, to new lease sales for the first time since 1984.

The program identifies at least 34 potential lease sales across the Outer Continental Shelf planning areas, spanning roughly 1.27 billion acres. Six of the proposed sales are in the Pacific planning area, and three are in the Southern California planning area.  

The Secretary of the Interior announced a first analysis and proposal for the National OCS Program on November 20, 2025, the City of Goleta’s staff report noted. The proposal includes six lease sales along the Pacific Coast. 

A 60-day comment period started from November 24, 2025, and will end on January 23, 2026, for the first analysis and proposal, according to the staff report. 

This will be followed by two more proposal periods for the proposed program, before BOEM adopts the final program. 

Support from Environmental Groups

The City Council’s resolution was lauded by the Environmental Defense Center (EDC). 

“We applaud the City for considering a resolution opposing the BOEM’s proposal to issue new offshore oil leases in the 11th National Outer Continental Shelf Oil and Gas Leasing Draft Proposed Program,” EDC said in a statement on December 12, 2025. 

The organization thanked the City Council for protecting Goleta’s “precious marine and coastal resources” and surrounding areas. 

EDC has been opposing increased oil and leasing development off the California Coast for almost 50 years, EDC said. 

The organization primarily works within the Santa Barbara, Ventura, and San Luis Obispo Counties, “areas that have already absorbed more than our share of offshore oil development and borne the ill effects that result from such development,” according to EDC. 

Supporting the City Council’s resolution, EDC noted that Goleta’s coastline has a robust coastal economy including recreation, commercial fishing, and tourism.

The city’s coastline borders the Santa Barbara Channel, which has one of the rarest bioregions in the world due to its strategic location in the confluence of two major ocean currents, EDC said. These currents result in the highest biodiversity in the mainland U.S.