Gas Well Setback Discussion

Transcription

1 Gas Well Setback Discussion City Council Work Session Community and Neighborhood Development Committee and

2 DEFINITIONS SETBACK REGULATION Protected Use (in Gas Drilling and Production Ordinance) Residence, Religious Institution, Hospital Building, Medical and Dental Office, Nursing Home, Personal Care Facility, Supervised Living Facility, Public or Private School, Day Care or Public Park. Protected Use (in Fire Prevention Ordinance) Assembly Group (A), Educational Group (E) and Institutional (I) Group. Residence is not listed as a Protected Use.

3 I. WHEN GAS WELL SITE IS PROPOSED CLOSE TO RESIDENCE Gas Drilling & Production Ordinance Fire Prevention Ordinance Unified Development Code (UDC) Does not allow drilling of any well within 600 from a protected use Can be reduced by Council approval to 300 if: i. 70% waivers; or ii. Super Majority Vote Does not allow drilling of any well within 300 from a protected use Residence not defined as a protected use Addresses the process of establishing a drill zone through a Specific Use Permit (SUP).

4 II. WHEN RESIDENCE IS PROPOSED NEXT TO A GAS WELL SITE Gas Drilling & Production Ordinance Fire Prevention Ordinance Unified Development Code All tanks, well facilities, and equipment must be 200 feet from a protected use. (i.e. a home can be built no less than 200 from a tank battery) A 100-foot setback from buildings not necessary to the operation of the well. (i.e. all structures, a home or a accessory structure, cannot be built within 100 of the gas well head) Level 3 residential screening and buffering required (i.e. a masonry wall and 30 transitional buffer with trees is required between the residential lot and the gas well SUP boundary)

5 COMMITTEE DIRECTION Discourage future homes from being built within 300 of the gas well heads (or drill zone)

6 CND Committee Recommendations: 1: Related to Existing Gas Well Sites 2: Related to Future or New Gas Well Sites

7 SITE ANALYSIS OF THE EXISTING 56 GAS WELL SITES IN ARLINGTON 28 sites do not have surrounding vacant, developable land 15 sites have vacant, developable land surrounding it, but they are not zoned for residential uses 13 sites have residentially-zoned, vacant, developable land adjacent to the site 3 sites with adjacent RMF-22 (multi-family) zoning 5 sites with adjacent RE (one-acre lots) zoning 1 site with RM-12 (townhome/duplex) zoning 4 sites with RS 7.2 zoning or PD for RS-7.2

8 1. RELATED TO EXISTING GAS WELL SITES PROPOSED STANDARD: *If the existing industrial use of the adjacent property is specifically gas well drilling use, then a building setback (for the residential structure) of 300 feet must be maintained. Exception: This requirement does not apply to existing residentially-zoned properties (as currently zoned) or lots platted for residential uses prior to (INSERT SPECIFIC DATE).

9 2. RELATED TO FUTURE OR NEW GAS WELL SITES PROPOSED STANDARD: A gas well developer seeking a Specific Use Permit for gas well drilling must own fee simple title to all real property within a 300-foot radius of the proposed gas well drill zone.

10 NEXT STEPS UDC amendment: Planning & Zoning Commission - May 16, 2018 City Council First Reading - June 12, 2018 City Council Final Reading - June 26, 2018

11 QUESTIONS?

12 EXAMPLE Scenario A new gas well site is proposed on a large vacant land

13 Scenario A new gas well site is proposed on a large vacant land PROPOSED REQUIREMENT: A gas well developer seeking a Specific Use Permit for gas well drilling must own fee simple title to all real property within a 300-foot radius of the proposed gas well drill zone.

14 1. RELATED TO EXISTING GAS WELL SITES Currently, if a single-family/ MF development is proposed adjacent to a gas well site, the developer has to provide LEVEL 3 buffer (a 30-foot landscaped buffer) and masonry wall as the screening fence. PROPOSED OPTION: *If the existing industrial use of the adjacent property is specifically gas well drilling use, then a building setback (for the residential structure) of 300 feet must be maintained. Exception: This requirement does not apply to existing residentially-zoned properties or lots platted for residential uses prior to (INSERT SPECIFIC DATE). Clarification: Any zoning changes occurring after the above specified date, even though it may be from one residential zoning district to another, would not meet the criteria for the exception. (For example, if a property was previously zoned RE and was changed to RS-7.2 after the above specified date, the 300-foot building setback requirement would apply.) *