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HomeMy WebLinkAboutAM amending Ordinance 426 Specific Use Permit for Oil & Gas Drilling Town of Westlake s Memo To: Honorable Mayor and Board of Aldermen From: Trent Petty,Town Manager Subject: Regular Meeting of April 12, 2004 Date: April 7, 2004 ITEM Consider amending Ordinance 426, The Town of Westlake, Land Use Schedule to provide a Specific Use Permit for Oil & Gas Drilling in the OI (Office Industrial) District. RECOMMENDATIONS Staff recommends approval. BACKGROUND Gas well drilling, once thought to be unlikely anywhere in Tarrant County,has become prevalent in recent years. According to a front-page article appearing in a recent Fort Worth Star Telegram article,many municipalities and homeowners in Tarrant and neighboring counties now have to grapple with the issues that accompany drilling in close proximity to homes and businesses. Staff has begun researching the legal means of providing maximum protection from oil & gas well drilling activity, should the need arise in Westlake. In order to complete this process and bring to the Board appropriate measures for consideration, the staff received a 90-day moratorium approved by the Board of Aldermen prohibiting the drilling of oil and/or gas wells in the Town of Westlake during the 90-day period. The staff was not aware of any eminent plans by anyone to drill in Westlake, but this measure was advisable as a precautionary measure. A second extension was granted after staff advised the Board that the new Ordinance was not yet complete. The Ordinance is now complete and will be going to the Board of Aldermen at their next regular meeting. This Ordinance does not procedurally go to the P&Z for approval. However, the P&Z must consider amending the Land Use Schedule to provide a means to accomplish the zoning allowance to be considered by the Board of Aldermen. The Town does not have the option of summarily denying the right to drill oil and gas wells in the Town,just as the Town does not have the option of denying water wells on a more strict basis than has already been approved. Because of the nature of Oil & Gas drilling and its intrusive impact and unlike water wells, a specific area of Town should be designated where these uses may occur. Therefore,the City Attorney has advised us to identify a zoning category where oil & gas drilling may occur following consideration and approval by the Planning and Zoning Commission and the Board of Aldermen of a Specific Use Permit. This zoning description does not apply to the PD's on the Circle T Ranch, as these will be addressed through the actual Oil & Gas Drilling Ordinance to be reviewed by the Board of Aldermen. Therefore, the Planning and Zoning Commission is advised to approve the amendment to the Land Use Schedule to allow the drilling of oil and gas wells in the Office Industrial area following the approval of a SUP by the P&Z and Board of Aldermen. All applicants will have to meet the specific criteria required in the Ordinance to be adopted by the Board of Aldermen.