City holds ‘productive’ town hall discussion
Even though she has family members in the industry, Loveland resident Cindy Van Slambrouck is concerned about the potential impacts of oil and gas development, particularly on health and the environment.
On Wednesday, she got a chance to voice those concerns and make recommendations to city development staff at a public town hall on proposed changes to Loveland’s oil and gas regulations.
“Think about the long-term, and even the short-term, implications of using our water this way, and not being able to go back and use it again because of hazardous fracking chemicals,” she urged city officials during public comment.
Van Slambrouck was one of about 40 people who attended the hybrid discussion in the Devereux Room at the Rialto Theater. Another 50 or so attended the meeting via Zoom.
Afterward, Van Slambrouck said that she thinks Loveland is on the right track with its proposed rules, but she hopes the city will use insights from the town hall to make them even stronger.
“I loved all the expertise that was in the room,” she said. “There are people here that have worked in the industry and know where the problems are.”
The Loveland City Council directed staff to review local oil and gas regulations when it voted to approve a moratorium on development applications last November. In particular, Mayor Jacki Marsh wanted to see rules at least as strict as those levied by Larimer County.
In many cases, the proposed amendments drafted so far make Loveland’s standards even stricter than the county’s, said Matt Sura, a consulting attorney on municipal oil and gas issues. He and city Development Services Director Brett Limbaugh led Wednesday’s presentation and took some questions from the audience.
Among the proposed changes are a total ban on oil and gas development in residential zones and 2,000-foot setbacks from schools, day care centers, hospitals, high occupancy buildings, senior living facilities and other such buildings. There are also increased setbacks for waterways, parks and open space.
When imposed on a map of the city, that will limit most potential drilling sites to the south and east outskirts of the city, Limbaugh said. The city is also proposing to strengthen its rules around noise and dust mitigation, water monitoring, as well as a new administrative review process.
More than a dozen attendees spoke about the proposed rules and feedback was generally positive. Many of the commenters expressed concerns similar to Van Slambrouk’s about potential adverse health impacts, while others spoke about potential danger to local wildlife, the need to conserve water or the need to hold operators accountable for the safety of their sites.
Like Van Slambrouk, Limbaugh was also impressed with the sophistication of the comments at the town hall and said the session was very “productive.”
“This is what we were looking for,” Limbaugh said afterward. “…There were some really good suggestions we hadn’t thought about. We’re going to have to go compare notes, do some research, and then figure out if we want to add that into a draft ordinance.”
The city plans a second town hall on the topic in April or May, Limbaugh said. The new rules will then be subject to a Planning Commission hearing sometime during the summer, and then at least one hearing by the Loveland City Council in late summer, before the moratorium expires on Sept. 1.
For more information on proposed changes to Loveland’s oil and gas rules, to watch the presentation or to leave comments, visit lovgov.org/oilandgas.