A ballot measure that would have banned hydraulic fracturing in La Habra Heights was rejected by city voters this week.
Measure A would have banned the drilling of any new oil and gas wells, halted the reactivation of old wells and barred certain treatments to enhance oil or gas drilling, including fracking.
Councilman Kyle Miller celebrated the news, telling the Whittier Daily News, “I’m pleased to see that people didn’t let their emotions take over their vote and looked at the facts of the initiative.”
“Miller and other opponents called the measure overly broad and said it could result in the city getting sued for millions of dollars by the oil companies for an unconstitutional taking of their property,” the paper reported.
The rejection comes just days after a similar ban passed last fall in San Benito County has been challenged in court by local energy companies.
Fracking bans have had mixed results with voters, but many other localities are set to vote on proposed bans in 2016. Among the places where fracking could be on the ballot are Santa Cruz, Alameda, Santa Clara and Monterey.