SUBJECT: GENERAL BUSINESS
Title
Oil and Gas Update and Discussion
Body
DEPARTMENT: Administration
PRESENTER: Farrell Buller, Deputy Town Administrator
TIME ESTIMATE: 20 minutes
only required for non-consent items
FISCAL SUMMARY: N/A
Cost as Recommended:
Balance Available:
Budget Line Item Number:
New Appropriation Required:
STAFF RECOMMENDATION:
Recommendation
Staff requests Board direction and approval for the topics discussed in this agenda memo
End
SUMMARY AND BACKGROUND OF SUBJECT MATTER:
At the request of the Board of Trustees, Town staff, with the assistance of the Town’s oil and gas legal counsel, has been working to revise the Unified Development Code (UDC) Chapter 12 oil and gas regulations. Tonight’s report will cover three topics for the Board’s review and/or approval:
• Request approval of the timeline for adopting the Chapter 12 UDC revisions
• Seek consensus on the format to be used for the Chapter 12 UDC revisions
• Seek confirmation and/or direction on the community engagement activities staff should use. For comparison, the staff has summarized the process used in 2019 to inform the public and solicit comments on the Chapter 12 UDC revisions
Timeline
Below is the proposed timeline for adopting revisions to Chapter 12 of the UDC. The dates below listed in bold indicate meetings at which Barb Green, the Town of Erie’s oil and gas counsel will be present. If the Board approves this timeline, staff will observe this timeline.
|
Date |
Audience |
Action |
|
August 25, 2020 |
Board of Trustees |
Share timeline with BOT, seek go ahead, share layout options |
|
August 28, 2020 |
Residents |
Comment period open |
|
September 15, 2020 |
Planning Commission, BOT invited to attend |
Chapter review, steps to date, current recommendations |
|
September 14, 2020 |
Residents |
Comment period closed |
|
October 7, 2020 |
Planning Commission |
Recommend “final draft” |
|
October 21, 2020 |
Planning Commission |
Seek recommendation of UDC updated chapter |
|
October 27, 2019 |
Board of Trustee |
Present “final draft” |
|
November 10, 2020 |
Board of Trustees |
Propose adoption of UDC Chapter 12 - oil and gas |
|
December 10, 2020 |
Town Staff and Businesses |
UCD changes become effective |
Format Consensus
Staff is requesting direction on the format to be used for Chapter 12 UDC revisions. The first option is using a format for the revisions organized by topic, with the regulations for both preexisting and new oil and gas production together. The second option organizes the regulations for new oil and gas production into separate sections from the regulations for preexisting oil and gas production. This second option has the advantage that smaller, less significant changes, may be considered separately if other, more significant changes require more time. However, this second option also has some legal risks, on which the oil and gas counsel can elaborate. The two formats are attached to this report and are identified as to “current” or “alternative” format. In addition, the current format can be found on the Town’s website on the -Unified Development Code Oil and Gas <https://www.erieco.gov/1557/Unified-Development-Code---Oil-and-Gas> page.
2019 Public Input Process
In 2019 staff used various ways to engage the public and receive comments on the proposed revisions to Chapter 12 of the UDC, including soliciting comments via the Town’s website and social media, conducting informal informational open house sessions (“ABC of Oil and Gas”), more detailed “Tabletop Workshops” covering both administrative processes as well as detailed environmental and nuisance standards, and formal public hearings. On the Town’s Oil and Gas page is a timeline <https://www.erieco.gov/1557/Unified-Development-Code---Oil-and-Gas> that shows the milestone actions taken by the Board of Trustees and the State. In summary, this public engagement included:
• September 2, 2019 - Comment period open
• September 12, 2019 - ABCs of Oil and Gas
• September 17, 2019 - Comment period closes
• November 14, 2019 - Tabletop Workshop Topic: Administrative and Public Provisions for Oil and Gas Regulations
• November 18, 2019 - Tabletop Workshop Topic: Environmental and Nuisance Standards
Staff asks for Board direction on what, if any, additional community engagement activities the Board wants staff to include, reflecting the timeline shown above, or a revised timeline if the Board chooses a different timeline.
Board Priority(s) Addressed:
ü Engaged and Diverse Community
ü Safe and Healthy Community
ü Effective Governance
ü Environmentally Sustainable
ATTACHMENTS:
1. Revisions - Current Format
2. Revisions - Alternative Format