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2014-192s;\Iegal\our documents\ordinances\14\maratorium ordinance amendment 6-17-14 cc versian.dacx • � l, L . . ; '_ . • �/��'��r'�! c i..��.v�.�.� AN ORDINANCE AMENDING ORDINANCE NO. 2014-137, WHICH ESTABLISHED A MORATORIUM ON THE ACCEPTANCE, PROCESSING AND APPROVAL OF CERTAIN APPLICATIONS FOR GAS WELL PERMITS WITHIN THE CORPORA.TE LIMITS OF THE CITY OF DENTON, AND ON APPLICATIONS FOR SPECIFIC USE PERMITS, SITE PLti1V17y LEVI._�LorM�1VA rLQ1VS oF ti1VY 1VtidVd�.E ol� 1 IF�y A1Vl..LVLIIVV APPLICATIONS FOR AMENDMENTS TO APPROVED OR PENDING GAS WELL DEVELOPMENT PLATS, AND ON APPLICATIONS FOR FIRE CODE OPERATIONAL PERMITS, AS THEY RELATE TO GAS WELL DRILLING AND PRODUCTION ACTIVITIES, SUBJECT TO CERTAIN EXEMPTIONS; PRO�IDING A VARIANCE PROCEDURE; PROVIDING A CUMULATIVE CLAUSE; PROVIDING A SEVERABILITY CLAUSE; AND PROVIDING AN EFFECTIVE DATE. WHEREAS, the City of Denton, Texas, is a home rule municipality located in Denton County; and WHEREAS, the City Council of the City of Denton is aware of an increased interest in, and concern about, gas exploration and production in the North Central Texas area; and WHEREAS, the City Council has received from the public a multitude of envir•onmental and land use compatibility concerns regarding the City's ordinances and regulations now applicable to the gas well drilling and production activities, including, but not limited to, health, water quality, air quality, noise, lighting, truck traffic, dust, vibratians and other nuisances; and WHEREAS, over the course of fifteen months, the City Council conducted such investigations as it deemed necessary to amend City ordinances and regulations relating to gas well drilling and production, resulting in Ordinance No. 2013-014, enacted on January 15, 2013; and WHEREAS, increased drilling in close proximity to residential and other protected uses after the enactment of Ordinance No. 2013-014 have resulted in negative and deleterious effects an Denton citizens, calling into question whether the various interests could be better balanced by additional review of the City's ordinances and regulations; and WHEREAS, gas well drilling and praduction activities are classified as industrial uses under the Denton Development Cade; and WHEREAS, gas well drilling and productian activities conducted within city limits are subject to and governed by the City's zoning regulations; and WHEREAS, the City Council, after due and careful consideration, finds that there remain significant and compelling environmental and land use compatibility concerns associated with the gas well drilling and production activities; and s:\legal\our documents\ordinances\14\maratorium ordinance amendment 6-17-14 cc version.docx WHEREAS, the City Council believes that it is reasonable and necessary ta again review municipal ordinances and regulations to provide far a fair and equitable system of regulations relating to the Gas well drilling and production activities so as to protect the property interests of mineral estate awners while protecting the rights, opportunities and property interests of surface estate owners and citizens of the City of Denton, Texas; and WHEREAS, it is important and necessary ta preserve the status quo by enacting a moratorium while a review and update of these regulations are being developed and implemented to ensure compatible land uses that do not negatively impact property values or neighborhoad character; and WHEREAS, the City Council finds that certain exemptions from a moratorium for certain categories of gas well permits and Fire Code operational permits are in order; and WHEREAS, the City Cauncil further finds that it is in the best interest of the City and the public ta enact a moratorium to a date certain in order to allow for the review and enactment of regulatory changes to the City's ardinances governing gas well drilling and production activities and the procedures related thereto; and WHEREAS, the City Council is open to the possibility of terminating the moratorium before the expiration date adopted herein, such as in the event that amendments to the City's ordinances and regulations related to gas well drilling and production activities are enacted before the moratorium's expiration date; NOW, THEREFORE, • • �' 1' • ' •' • ` � ' SECTION__ 1. All of the above recitals are hereby found to be true and correct factual and legislative determinations of the City of Denton, Texas and are hereby approved and incorporated by reference as though fully set forth herein. SECTION 2. A moratorium is hereby imposed on the acceptance, processing or approval of applications for gas well permits within the corporate limits of the City of Denton, any applications for specific use permits, or gas well develapment site plans, of any nature or type, or amendments thereto, including expressly any amendments to prior approved or pending applications far gas well development plats within the corporate limits, and any applications for Fire Code operational permits, pursuant to the Denton Development Code (DDC), including but not limited to Chapter 22 thereof, as amended, and the Denton Fire Code, as amended, as they relate to gas well drilling and production activities, or any part thereof, in the City of Denton, subject to the exemptions stated in Section 3 of this ordinance. The moratorium shall be in place until midnight September 9, 2014, and may be extended by the City Council thereafter for good cause shown. SECTION 3. The following applications are exempt from the moratorium: a. Applications for Fire Code operational permits relating to gas well drilling and production activities, which are subject ta and consistent with an approved gas well Page 2 s:\(egal\aur documents\ardinances\14\moratorium ardinance amendment 6-17-14 cc versian.dacx permit issued pursuant to DDC Chapter 22, as amended by Ordinance Nos. 2013-014 and 2013-304; and b, Applications for gas well permits, which are subject to and consistent with a gas well development site plan approved after January 15, 2013; and Applications that are in sequence with the applications described in subsections (a) or (b); d� Applications for Fire Code operational permits as they relate to annual inspections of those gas wells currently in production; Applications to vacate all, or a portion of, land areas within gas well development plats approved before August 17, 2010; and f, Applications for permits relating to the drilling of wells, which do not require hydraulic fracturing, in conjunction with the injection or storage of natural gas as personal property beneath the surface of the earth. SECTION 4. Acceptance or processing of any other applications by City staff is hereby deemed to be a nullity and shall be grounds for denial of such wrongfully accepted application. SECTION 5. The City staff is hereby directed to complete those studies and analyses necessary to determine what, if any, regulatory changes to the ordinances of the City of Denton are reasonable and necessary to permit gas well drilling and production activities without disproportionately impacting the interest of adjacent and nearby surface estate owners and citizens within the City. The City staff is directed to review all appropriate environmental, planning materials and development regulations to suggest changes, if appropriate, that would protect the interests of mineral estate owners and nearby and adjacent surface estate owners and citizens while ensuring the highest degree of concern for the preservation of the public health, safety, morals and general welfare. The City staff shall complete their work and make their recommendations to the City Council by September 9, 2014, or if they should determine that this time period is not feasible, report back to the City Council with a proposed calendar by which they will complete their work. The City staff shall solicit such input as they deem necessary and appropriate in preparing their recommendations. SECTION 6. The purpose of this moratorium is to maintain the status quo within the corporate limits of the City. SECTION i. Any gas well operator or mineral owner who believes that the imposition of this moratorium causes a unique and undue hardship upon his or her property or business shall have the right to request a variance and shall submit a written request to the Board of Adjustment by transmitting same to the Director of Planning and Development ("Director"). The request must provide the following information: a. A description of the property proposed to be covered by the variance. �,.- s:\legal\our dacuments\ordinances\14\moratorium ordinance amendment 6-17-14 cc versian.docx Q c. An explanation as to why the application af the moratorium to applicant's property will create an undue hardship. A description of any negative impacts created by the moratorium provision. The Director shall place the request for a variance on the agenda of the Board of Adjustment for consideration at a public meeting. The applicant shall receive written natice of the date af the proposed hearing on the variance request. The Board of Adjustment shall canduct a public hearing on the variance request giving any individual who desires to present infarmation ar evidence to the Board of Adjustment on the appropriateness ar inappropriateness of the variance the opportunity to appear before the Board of Adjusment and present such information. The Board of Adjustment shall apply the following criteria in determining whether or not to grant the variance: (1) Application of the moratorium will create an undue hardship; (2) The situation creating the undue hardship is neither self-imposed nar generally affecting all or most properties subject to the same regulations; (3) The relief sought will nat be harmful to the permitted use of adjacent lawful uses; and (4) The granting of the variance shall be in harmony with the purpose af the moratorium. In granting a variance, the Board of Adjustment may impose conditions that are consistent with the purpase of this ordinance. At the conclusion of the hearing, the Board of Adjustment, by majority vote, may approve a variance to the provisions of this moratorium ordinance or may deny the request for variance. SECTION 8. the City of Denton, direct canflict with Ordinance, during i pravisians thereof. This Ordinance shall be cumulative of all provisions of the ordinances of Texas, as amended, except where the provisions of this Ordinance are in the provisions of such ordinances, in which event the terms of this ts effectiveness, shall prevail over any other conflicting ordinances or SECTION 9. It is hereby declared to be the intentian of the City Council that the sections, paragraphs, sentences, clauses and phrases of this Ordinance are severable, and if any phrase, clause, sentence, paragraph or section of this Ordinance shall be declared void, ineffective or unconstitutional by the valid judgment ar decree of any caurt of competent jurisdiction, such voidness, ineffectiveness or unconstitutianality shall not affect any of the remaining phrases, clauses, sentences, paragraphs or sections of this Ordinance, since the same would have been enacted by the City Council without the incorporation herein of any such void, ineffective ar unconstitutional phrase, clause, sentence, paragraph or section. I' • - \\codad\departments\legal\our documents\ordinances\14\moratorium ordinance amendment 6-17-14 cc VePS10T1.C�OCX SECTION 10. This Ordinance shall take effect upon its passage and shall remain in effect until midnight September 9, 2014, unless earlier terminated by ardinance of City Council. PASSED AND APPROVED this r� ��`�� day of 't���,'� �`��m_ , 2014. , � ,� � �� � �� � � �� w� - -�� �-- CHRIS WATTS, MAYOR ATTEST: JENNIFER WALTERS, CITY SECRETARY w � �1,1�'1��"�V�;�) ,��1't:� LEGAL FORM; ANITA BURGESS, CITY ATTORNEY d�.�� ,� ,�-�, � rl � � ,� ,� ,r � � � BY; �.� ,.�� � ,�� � =�.,�= Page 5 4:. �