Make or break

But Ratway counters that his engineering analysis shows 3-mile laterals can work in that part of the D-J Basin and that Conocophillips has drilled that far in other basins.

“If the engineering points to the ability to do it here, why don’t we do it? Improve your bottom line and reduce the impact that you are going to have in the city of Aurora,” he said.

Ferreira said the relocation of the well pads could prove make or break for Aurora Highlands, given the growing resistance among buyers to living next door to active oil and gas operations.

Aurora’s Planning Department hasn’t seen the proposed drilling plan and can’t comment on it, but the city is studying an extension of Powhaton’s right of way as part of its Northeast Area Transportation Study, said spokeswoman Julie Patterson.

“The developer needs authorization from the mineral rights owners because they have surface use agreements already in place on the site,” she said.

But Aurora Highlands represents a much more ambitious development than the one initially proposed, one that backers argue is sorely needed given the severe shortfall of new homes and the importance of locating residences near the jobs what will come into that part of the metro area.

Ratway said keeping the well pads in the middle of Aurora Highlands would eliminate 140 developable acres in the center of the community.

“It splits the community in half. It would put a spear through the heart of the project and they know it,” Ratway said.

Brian Cain, a spokesman for Extraction Resources, said the company favors a collaborative approach when it works with surrounding communities, including Aurora Highlands.

But he adds that communication has to be two-way and requires an understanding that a one-size-fitsall approach to siting oil and gas facilities won’t work.

“Development pads cannot be sited without consideration of subsurface geological requirements and drilling and technological constraints,” he said.

Ferreira, who is based out of Las Vegas and has built homes throughout the Southwest, said he hopes to have model homes up by next spring and that state oil and gas regulators will side with his drilling plan versus the one now in place.

He says he sought what is known as a comprehensive drilling plan in his Shadow Creek Ranch community near Houston to balance surface uses and resource development and prevent surprises. He argues the time has come for Colorado to deploy such plans and head off the nasty fights becoming more common along the northern Front Range.

If comprehensive agreements can’t be reached to balance surface uses and mineral rights in advance, it could stunt the development of the Aerotropolis region around DIA and Aurora’s ability to grow, Ratway warns.