Loading...
HomeMy WebLinkAboutGBA 2011-08-11 MinutesMINUTES OF THE MEETING OF THE GAS BOARD OF APPEALS OF THE CITY OF NORTH RICHLAND HILLS, TEXAS August 11, 2011 1. CALL TO ORDER The meeting was called to order by Chairman Tom Duer at 6:30 p.m. 2. ROLL CALL PRESENT Chairman Tom Duer Garry Cope Randy Shiflet Kathy Luppy ABSENT CITY STAFF Director of Planning & Dev. Asst Dir of Public Works Asst Chief Recording Secretary Marty Kusmierski John Pitstick Greg Van Neiuwenhuize Mike Rawson Gina Pastre 3. Approval of March 10, 2011 Gas Board of Appeals Meeting Minutes. APPROVED Kathy Luppy, seconded by Garry Cope , motioned to approve the minutes from March 10, 2011. The motion carried unanimously (4 -0). 4. GB 2011 -03 Public hearing and consideration of a request from Chesapeake Energy Corporation for a deviation from distance requirements from existing structures to gas wellheads at the proposed Leaf 3H Gas Well, 828 W. Harwood Road. Distance requirements are established in Section 104 -6 of the City of North Richland Hills Code of Ordinances. John Pitstick came forward and stated that we have a request from Chesapeake on the Tarrant County College site. They are proposing to drill Leaf 3H gas well. This is an appeal for the required 600 foot setback from drilling to any habitable structures from Page 1 of 19; 08/11/11 GBA minutes the Leaf 3H. There are two buildings within the Regency on the Green apartment complex that fall directly across the street. The Tarrant County College south site was approved in 2009 under a Special Use Permit but the permit only established the well pad site and the landscaping around it. Variances still have to come before the Gas Board of Appeals. Previously Chesapeake has received approval from the Gas Board to drill 3 gas wells at the Tarrant County College District pad site. These include the TCCD north 2H which was completed in December 2009, The TCCD south 3H and was completed in November 2010 and the TCCD north 4H was completed in May 2011. The board is authorized to decide by majority vote request from deviations from landscaping, screening requests as well as distances. Relevant considerations in determining whether such requests should be granted include the nature and remoteness of the site, the wishes of the owners of the immediate adjacent property impacted by the request and any proposed measures to offset the impact of the request. The two residential structures include the managers office and the end of one of the apartment buildings. The two structures fall between 468 feet and 562 feet from the proposed gas well. Regency on the Green has just changed property owners and name over the last several months. This does also affect a section on the Racetrack property but not any structures on their property. The Gas Board should be aware that the setback waiver request only includes the Leaf 3H gas well. Chesapeake indicates that up to 16 total wells will be drilled at this location. They have been approved for 3 and this will be the 4 th well so each well that is proposed that would be within 600 feet will have to come back to the Gas Board. As a result of significant improvements being made to the site above typical gas well regulations and realizing the ongoing technical and safety issues are being actively addressed. Asst Chief Mike Rawson is here and he serves as our Gas Inspector and he is out there quite a bit. They recently connected a pipeline in the area. Staff would recommend approval assuming there are no outstanding concerns from directly affected property owners within 600 feet from Leaf 3H gas well. I would be happy to answer any questions. Tom Duer asked if there are any plans to do any development with the property that is north of the managers office between the apartments and Racetrack? John Pitstick said that it is owned by a separate owner. In recent conversations over the last couple months I think they see a garden office development going in eventually. Tom Duer asked if we had received any correspondence with that landowner during any of these? John Pitstick said no. Brandon McKinley came forward representing Chesapeake energy, 100 Energy Way, Fort Worth, 76102. Our current schedule as of right now is to drill the Leaf 3H is going to be within the next 30 days. The only issue the fracturing and drilling of this well. We are going to be running above ground water lines from the TCCD frac pond which is due east of it using water bridges that cross over the private drives and a load bearing speed bump. Tom Duer asked if that had been done with the previous wells? Page 2 of 19; 08/11/11 GBA minutes Brandon McKinley said yes. We have actually done two different routes. We have crossed over the drive approaches and went back behind the water supply and we have also gone over the drive. Tom Duer asked if there are any delivery lines for this well to deliver to market yet? Brandon McKinley said yes. We will have to case those wells once we begin to drill the Leaf 3H. We can't have the wells flowing while we are drilling the other wells. Randall Shiflet asked about the pipelines on Harwood that are going over to the pond. Do you pull the water out of the pond and then pump it back in? Brandon McKinley said no. The water that is pulled from that pond is potable water and then inject it into the hole and then it is brought back up to the surface and stored in tanks and trucked off site. Randall Shiflet asked what is the source of the water for the pond? Brandon McKinley said it is coming from the City of Hurst. There are plans to drill a water well there as well. That would allow the campus to have the ability to use the water well to fill the pond and irrigation. Currently we are using a RPZ and a meter from a fire hydrant to fill that frac pond. It is also retention based as well since we have a culvert tied into it also. Tom Duer asked how deep they would have to go for well water? Brandon McKinley said that depending on what aquifer they will be drilling into I would assume 150 -175 feet at a minimum. Garry Cope asked did I hear correctly that the pond is also fed by the culvert also? Brandon McKinley said yes. John Pitstick said there is a natural swell or retention area. Public Hearing opened at 6:41 pm Tom Duer asked if there was anyone wishing to in favor or against 2011 -03 to come forward. Jacob Surovy, 8120 Long Trail Drive, North Richland Hills, TX 76182 came forward and asked if the well site could be moved? Brandon McKinley asked if he was asking about the pad site or the surface location of the well? The surface hole can be moved but it would have to be on the confines of the pad site that has already been approved. Does that make sense? Page 3 of 19; 08/11/11 GBA minutes Jacob Surovy said no. Brandon McKinley said that yes the well can be moved but if we move the well it can potentially impact and have well collision issues with the other wells that have already been drilled. Jacob Surovy asked where the other well that would conflict? Brandon McKinley said that there 14 wells as of today that are still proposed off of the well site and the other 2 wells I can get the information provided to you with a copy of the plat or lat longs for you to have the surface coordinates. Tom Duer asked if you can draw a radius on the map showing in which area the wells will be drilled? If you drive up to Boulevard 26 you will see the area that is already fenced around and they have to stay well within the confines of those walls. Jacob Surovy said that his question is why can't it be moved? It gets it out of the request for a variance. John Pitstick said no. Then it would affect the properties on the south side of Harwood. Brandon McKinley said that he can pull up the plans so that I can show where the other wells were drilled. Jacob Surovy said that he doesn't understand why we are entertaining a variance when it seems like a simple thing to move the well site. Garry Cope said they can't just move the drill site. You would have to move the entire pad site and Tarrant County College may not agree to it. Tom Duer said that original site was negotiated between the land owners Tarrant County College and the geological surveys and that was determined as the best site. They would more than likely want to do a well site where they wouldn't have to get a variance on any of this. Because that was the site that was chosen they have to come before us every time they want to drill. Brandon McKinley said that ideally they would like to move the well to be able to avoid coming to do this but based off of the surface use agreement that we had signed with the campus in order to have the drill site there. That was the agreed upon location that they wanted the wells to be drilled from. Jacob Surovy said that then the original location proposed did not meet the ordinance. Is that correct? Tom Duer said that the original first drill site they had to come before the Gas Board because of those properties that were within the 600 feet. That is why they have to come before us on every drill site to get that 600 foot variance. Page 4 of 19; 08/11/11 GBA minutes Garry Cope said that the Gas Board of Appeals has no control over where these property owners and the gas company want to put the pad site. We come into the picture only after that decision is made. Jacob Surovy asked if the decision is made why is there a vote on the variance? Kathy Luppy said they have to appeal because it does not meet the ordinance requirements so they have to get approval for the variance in order to drill the well. Jacob Surovy asked what happens if it doesn't get approved? Tom Duer said then they aren't able to drill the well. Kathy Luppy said that city staff does a lot of the research and determines how it falls and all of the details. Tom Duer said that once that has been determined then the affected landowners are notified and a public hearing is held. With all of the information that is received then the board makes a decision. Jacob Surovy said that I don't understand the process. I would like to say for the record I do not understand why it cannot be moved. My other question is how long will the well site be there. Brandon McKinley said that it would be there for the life of those wells. If I were to guess 20 -30 years. Jacob Surovy said 20 -30 years. Do you know what you are approving? Tom Duer said yes. Randall Shiflet said that he wanted to clarify a point. You had made a comment that they had picked a site that does not meet the ordinance. Basically what is outlined in the ordinance is if they are outside the 600 foot then they can come in and pull their permits and meet requirements and drill. If they are 300 feet or under they cannot drill. The 300 -600 foot we evaluate by a case by case basis. To say it is inside or outside the regulations, the regulations include our role here for that discretionary. If we get in here and there is something within the 300 -600 feet and determine that it isn't going to work we will deny everyone of them. Jacob Surovy said that for 20 -30 years the people that live in that area are going to have to drive by this well site and see it? Brandon McKinley said that is correct and they will also be receiving royalty checks for the life of the those wells for producing for that 20 -30 years. Tom Duer said that just like any structure that we deal with on any of the boards every decision that we make is pretty much a lifetime decision. Whether it is allowing a Page 5 of 19; 08/11/11 GBA minutes church to be built in a certain area or manufacturing plant in a certain area or gas well site, used car dealership. Greg VanNeiuwenhuize said that with the first variance request before Chesapeake even made the deal with TCC they were looking at drilling in that area. One thing that the city made sure of and TCC as well was their future buildout plans. These were things that also made an impact on their site as well. Jacob Surovy said that the location could also have an impact on the future property owners. Tom Duer said yes. That is why everything is public record. John Pitstick said that property owners within 600 feet are notified everytime. Jacob Surovy said but if the property is sold then the new owner has had his property rights violated. John Pitstick said no. It is already there he knows when he goes in that it is there. Jacob Surovy said it is on his deed. John Pistick said it is an existing land use when they purchase the property. On every new well everyone within 600 feet are notified. Tom Duer said that in future and current property owners. Once everything is finished out and the drilling is finished those owners are able to build structures as close as 150 feet of the wall. This is just the requirement for the drilling phase. The affected property owners and the people that own the property now are aware of it and it behooves you to have it noted on your title and survey for future owners. John Pitstick said that it is required to be placed on the title and is recorded at Tarrant County. Before someone buys the property it will show up on the deed search and is recorded that there is a gas well site within 600 feet. Garry Cope said that any future buyer of property that has an approved gas well on it he has to be aware before he decides to purchase the property. We don't have anything to say about whether a property owner wants to take that chance or not. Jacoby Surovy said and the future buyer may change his mind when he learns what is there and instead of building a high end town house he may decide to build something else that has less tax revenue. Tom Duer said that is within the title and title research and if you buy a home and that is not within the title research that is something they should make sure is included within your deed. When you go to buy a piece of property now, a long time ago when you got the mineral rights when you bought the property and that is not the case anymore. Most homes are sold without the mineral rights. That does change things but again it would Page 6 of 19; 08/11/11 GBA minutes be just like building a factory. You can put residential fairly close to a factory. If the factory was built there first then those homeowners should be aware that if they want to buy property in that area or if they want to buy a house check the area out and check your title. Jacob Surovy said he agrees. That is why when the factory is being built that these things need to be discussed, reviewed and accepted or rejected. That is why I am asking why can't it be moved and I haven't gotten a good answer. John Pitstick said that is the way it was approved. Jacob Surovy said that in all due respect I don't think that is an answer. Garry Cope said that the college may not want it to be moved. They want that land to be able to expand their college buildings. They don't want to put it on top of or too close to a well site. We cant determine whether they would want to move it. It is up to the property owners. John Pitstick said that as part of the original Special Use Permit Tarrant County College had to give us 20 -30 year plans for construction on their property. We had to review those before the city council could approve that site. Jacob Surovy said that if the owner approved all of this I go back to my original question, Why is a variance required? What purpose does it serve? Tom Duer said that was the site that chosen between the gas company and property owners. If there weren't any structures within 600 feet they would just purchase the permit and proceed with drilling, if it is a location where it does affect other property owners that is why we have a public hearing and we have not heard anything from the affected property owners that is negative in any way. In each one of these there have been notifications to all affected property owners. The location was a choice between the gas company and the property owner and from that point they have to satisfy all of the other requirements. So far this site has satisfied all the requirements. Jacob Surovy said that with all due respect I do not think that is an answer. Tom Duer said that we can't say anything else. If the property owner wants to do it and the gas drilling company wants to do it and it is within the ordinances. If they want a variance then they have to come before the Gas Board of Appeals. Jacob Surovy said that ugly thing is there at a very major arterial area. Tom Duer asked do you know what is going to be there eventually when they are done drilling the wells? Jacob Surovy said that he told me 20 -30 years. Page 7 of 19; 08/11 /11 GBA minutes Tom Duer said no. Once they are through drilling all of the active wells then you will see an 8 foot brick wall. Jacob Surovy asked how long will it take to drill the wells? When are all of them drilled? Tom Duer said that each of these wells has a specific time limit that they have to finish the well and then they have a specific time frame to complete the outside boundary. On an area where they will be coming in and drilling more wells the are criteria that they can still do active wells but once they have completed the last well then they have a specific amount of time by ordinance to take those big tall walls down and put up an 8 foot brick wall around a much smaller circumference . They will no longer need that larger area for their equipment and then they will have to landscape that entire area. Then you will only see is an 8 foot brick wall and the landscaping around it. Jacob Surovy asked when the tall walls come down? Brandon McKinley said that the sound walls are serving as mitigation purposes to be able to keep the noise down and stay within the tolerable ranges of ambient for sound. The walls come down depending upon what our activity schedule is like. For instance the Leaf 3H well when they drill that well the walls will be up. If we are going to come back and frac that well within 30 -40 days from when we finish drilling then those walls will stay up until we have fracturing operation complete. There is no set timeframe on how long those walls are going to go up or come down. Jacob Surovy said so it could be 2031. Brandon McKinley said no. Jacob Surovy asked what the approximate date when they would come down? Brandon McKinley said that the walls are going to come down in between operations. They will come down and go back up many times. Jacob Surovy said you aren't giving me an answer. Brandon McKinley said it is because I can't answer you. Tom Duer said that they have a specific amount of time once this wall is finished that he has to take those walls down and then it will be a very nice brick structure. Back when we started this in 2005 there weren't any of these tall walls. Those were developed through the interim as sound proofing walls. Before then they had a 6 -8 fence around the perimeter. When they finalized the drill site they have got to with the 8 foot brick wall and landscaping. Once they finished drilling and the tall sound walls will be removed. Jacob Surovy asked when will the walls come down? Date? 2021, 2031? Asst Chief Mike Rawson asked if Chesapeake has a schedule for drill out on this site? Page 8 of 19; 08/11/11 GBA minutes Brandon McKinley said that on our current drill schedule the only wells that are on this pad that are scheduled to be drilled is the Leaf 3H. Jacob Surovy asked if it was just one well drilled for this year? Brandon McKinley said yes. One well for the remainder of this year. Jacob Surovy asked how many wells are left? Brandon McKinley said as of right now there are 13 proposed wells still to be drilled off of this site. Jacob Surovy asked how long it took to drill the two wells? You said 2006 so that is 5 years for 2 wells. Tom Duer asked if it was 90 days? John Pitstick said this site was started in 2008 and they drilled one in 2008 and 2 in 2010. Brandon McKinley said that these wells are being drilled in about 17 -20 days. Jacob Surovy said that he isn't getting an answer. When is the date when the last well is drilled and the sound barrier comes down? Brandon McKinley said that date is not available yet. I do not have that information for you. Jacob Surovy said that is where the 20 years comes in? Tom Duer said no that is not correct. On this well that we are approving tonight. You say it will take about 20 days? Brandon McKinley said it will take 17 -20 days. Tom Duer asked if they come in fracturing after that? Brandon McKinley said that the fracturing takes about 3 -5 days. Tom Duer asked if they still have the sound walls up for fracturing? Brandon McKinley said yes. Tom Duer asked what is done with the walls once the fracturing is complete? Brandon McKinley said that depending upon what our subsequent operations are going to be they either come down or stay up. It is all dependent on the timing. Page 9 of 19; 08/11/11 GBA minutes Tom Duer said I'm just throwing out a number. In 2 Y months from now is approximately November 1 If you are not going to start another well then those walls will come down by November 1 If you aren't going to have anymore wells this year? Brandon McKinley said yes if they aren't going to have any operations on that location then the walls would come down by November 1St Jacob Surovy asked if that would be of this year? Brandon McKinley said yes. Tom Duer said that if they come back in January of next year to drill that 4 th or 5 th well then the walls go back up. Once they finish that last well then 2 months after that those walls will never go up again. Those are sound walls. You will see an 8 foot wall brick wall surrounded by landscaping. Jacob Surovy asked if the next well that is drilled would require the walls? Tom Duer said yes. Each well that is drilled will require it. Each well is approximately 17 -20 days. Once they have completed if they aren't drilling again right away then they will come back down. They have to eventually get these 13 wells drilled. Once they have completed they will never go up again. Jacob Surovy asked if it the standard procedure to take them down after you drill a well site? Brandon McKinley said that our standard procedure based upon what operations are going to follow the drilling. If we are going to have an extended amount of time when we aren't going to have any type of operations going on that location for 60 -90 -120 days then the walls will come down. Garry Cope said in order to clarify that 30 year life that we are discussing. That is the life of the well not the drilling period. These wells will exist for decades after all of the drilling is done. Jacob Surovy said and they will be enclosed by the masonary boundary Garry Cope said yes. The city requires the wall. We won't let you throw up a well and not put any type of aesthetic protection around the well site. Randall Shiflet said that if you drive around to some of major cities. Such as Fort Worth you will see chain link fences around the well site. Jacob Surovy said that is why I am here tonight off of 121 there is one and it is horrible. Randall Shiflet said that is why we have this board and we have our people that are inspectors where most other cities do not. Page 10 of 19; 08/11/11 GBA minutes Brandon McKinley asked if he could explain the site off of 121. The reason there is a chain link fence there is because that site is in the flood plain and in order to hydraulically mitigate and not have any type of masonry wall where water cannot convey back into the creek. That is why they allowed the chain link. That particular well is in Haltom City. Tom Duer asked if the big sound wall up at the site on Mid Cities or just the Masonry wall? John Pitstick said they are up. Tom Duer asked if there were any sites that the sound walls are not up right now? I was just wondering if there are any sites that they walls are down so that he can drive by and see what the site will look like without the sound walls. Brandon McKinley said that he would be happy to get that information and provide it for him. John Pitstick said that he wanted to clarify that the city does not require the sound walls. That is Chesapeakes policy to put up the sound walls to mitigate the noise. That makes the gas inspectors job easier because we don't get noise complaints. We require the masonry wall and the landscaping to go up after the first well. This next case has to deal with that. If you want to require for the sound wall to come down by November 1St you will need to make that stipulation. Tom Duer said that the reason I threw that out just that there is a date certain that once the drill site is inactive and they aren't not going to be drilling a new site within a certain amount of time those walls come down. That is not a requirement from us I just know that the sound walls are not a permanent structure. The 8 foot masonry wall with the landscaping is required. Public Hearing closed at 7:06 pm APPROVED Randy Shiflet, seconded by Kathy Luppy, motioned to approve GB2011 -03. The motion carried unanimously (4 -0). 5. G 82011 -04 Public hearing and consideration of a request from Chesapeake Energy Corporation for an extension of time for a deviation from screening requirements at the Little Bear Creek gas well site located in the 7300 Block of North Tarrant Parkway. John Pitstick came forward and stated this is a request from Chesapeake for the Little Bear Gas well site. It is a request appeal from landscaping and screening with a 60 Page 11 of 19; 08/11/11 GBA minutes stipulation to have a full masonry wall installed at the Little Bear site. Two initial gas wells have been drilled at the Little Bear site. They were drilled and completed in 2010. Little Bear south 1 H was completed on August 1, 2010 and Little Bear south 2H was completed on December 9, 2010. Under our current ordinance once drilling is complete an 8 ft masonry wall and associated landscape is required to be installed within 90 days of completion of any well. Basically the reason this request is coming forward to you is because the applicant wants to expand the existing pad site. Once the first 2 wells were drilled Chesapeake came to the city to request expanding their pad site to the north making it closer to North Tarrant Pkwy by about 50 feet. Staff has had several discussions with them and we really felt that we did not want the wall or related uses to be any closer to North Tarrant Parkway with the widening of the road and right of way is being taken up. We requested that they not expand north so we have had discussions over the last several months and that is why it has taken so long. This is not all Chesapeakes fault why they haven't gotten their wall up yet. They have had plans to come in and build the wall. The Development Review Committee has generally approved to allow them to expand to the east by 40 feet and to the south by 50 feet. The pad site would be expanding and there are no structures within 600 feet so there aren't any variances required for that. Tonight the Gas Board is not approving the expansion of the pad site but only approving when the wall will be built. Our current regulations require that the walls are built at the completion which is when the well is drilled and fractured and completed,not necessarily into production but in completion. This well site also does not have distribution lines or pipelines connected. We are reviewing pipeline connections and they have connections all the way up to our Morrow Stevens site and within the next several months they hope to extend the pipeline connecting those two sites. This site is not in production at this time. You should see a letter in your packets that they are requesting to build immediately the north and west wall. Once they get final approval from city staff they will be expanding to the east and south wall. If you have been out there is topography issues so we will need to see some grading plans. Staff is in favor of allowing the well site to expand 40 feet to the east and 50 feet to the south. There is also a trail connection and this shouldn't affect the trail connection. Once they get approval Chesapeake would like to go ahead and build the entire east and south walls. This would then enclose the entire site with an 8 ft masonry wall. We want to see landscaping and staff is recommending that approval of this with the stipulation that the north and west walls are started immediately and the south and east walls to begin within 15 days of city staff approval of the pad expansion plans. Staff would recommend that the full completion of the entire masonry wall and the landscaping around that be completed no later than October 21, 2011. They said 60 days and this gives them a little more time but we are adding the stipulation that they need to have the landscape complete. We need a little more cool weather which is why we are giving them a little more time. This is the worse time to plant trees. Randall Shiflet asked if they have to pull permits for the wall? John Pitstick said yes. They have submitted for a permit. They have wanted to install the wall and we were just held up with the expansion plans. We needed to make sure that we protected the park and the trail system. We have been working for a couple months to determine where we would allow them to expand the wall. Page 12 of 19; 08/11 /11 GBA minutes Randall Shiflet asked since October 21 is a finish date for everything would immediate be tomorrow or Monday. John Pitstick said that we have the permits so I don't see a problem getting that issued pretty quickly. They are ready to build at least the north and west sides of the wall. The wall is going to look very similar to the entry way signs with the Austin stone look. It will look similar to the Tarrant County College site but just a little lighter in color. It is a concrete wall but it is articulated to look like a stone wall. Very compatible with the entry way features. Randall Shiflet asked if North Tarrant Parkway was going to be completed by October 21 st? Greg Van Neiuwenhuize it is currently projected to be substantially complete late September mid October. That is not complete but we should be able to have 3 lanes of traffic driveable each direction. Randall Shiflet said then not necessarily have the landscaping completed. Greg Van Neiuwenhuize said yes. The right of way typically where the city still owns 10 foot behind the back curb. It is a minimum of 20 ft in some cases upwards of 40 ft. so it going to have some extensive landscaping. Obviously in the current climate we don't want to plant that. Brandon McKinley came forward representing Chesapeake Energy, 100 Energy Way, Fort Worth, TX 76102. Tom Duer asked what the cost per day now for drilling a site? Brandon McKinley said that he would have to look into it and get back to you with it. Tom Duer asked if you have a rough idea? Brandon McKinley said that it would not be accurate. Tom Duer asked if was between $1.00 and $1 million? Brandon McKinley said yes. It might be somewhere around $35,000 a day. Tom Duer said than it behooves you to drill this as quick as you can. Brandon McKinley said yes. $35,000 may even be on the low side of what it really costs a day. We are asking to be able to install the north and west sides of the wall. If we have a fence permit issued tomorrow then more than likely we will be out getting the wall installed. The only complication is that with Little Bear Al H is scheduled to be drilled in 9 days. We can build the wall while the rig is on site and drilling. Once the pad expansion is approved then within 60 days we will complete the wall. I would be happy to answer any questions. Page 13 of 19; 08/11/11 GBA minutes Garry Cope asked do you foresee a problem with getting this completed by October 21 2011? Brandon McKinley said that it is a little troubling since we don't know what the weather is going to do however if this drought continues it is going to be difficult to have the landscaping completed by October 21, 2011. If we can get some rain we also need to get the irrigation installed also. This site will take about 3'/ weeks to install the complete wall. If we start next week that would put us into the first week of September to complete the first part of the wall. That gives us about 45 days to get the landscape installed. Garry Cope asked even with the weather not withstanding the walls would all be up? Brandon McKinley said yes. The north and west sides will be up for sure and then as soon as the city approves our expansion then all 4 sides will be up by October 21, 2011. Tom Duer asked if he could clarify that all they are asking for tonight is an extension on time not distance? John Pitstick said yes and they are not asking for a variance. They are building it to our standards they are just saying that they missed the 90 day timeframe. Tom Duer said so if we say tonight that October 21, 2011 becomes the new expiration date to have the walls built and the landscaping. John Pitstick said that they are asking for 60 days to install the complete walls. We are just adding another 30 or 40 days. Tom Duer said that we are here to determine the ultimate date that they need to have it completed? Brandon McKinley asked with our landscape architect that we have if she determines that the conditions are not suitable to plant landscape around that could we submit a formal request to the city asking for a November 1, 2011 deadline for cooler conditions. Would that be suitable as well? Tom Duer said that it is up to the Gas Board of Appeals to determine the conditions. If we put a date that the brick wall has to be completed. John Pitstick said that you can also set separate dates for the wall and landscaping. Randall Shiflet asked if we set two separate dates can we move the fence date sooner? You are saying 3 Y2 weeks on the fence. I'd like to see you get the fence up and then give you the time for the landscape. I'm not interested in seeing the trees dying. John Pitstick asked Greg what information we are needing to issue the permit? Page 14 of 19; 08/11/11 GBA minutes Greg Van Neiuwenhuize said there are two issues. Because we are also the property owner we have to negotiate and that is approved by the City Council for the approval of the padsite. That is not something that staff has any control over. The second issue is the flood plain which we do have input on. There are some hoops that they are going to have to go through to get approved. They may also need FEMA approval. John Pitstick said that you could say that the north and west walls have to be completed in 3 weeks. Greg Van Neiuwenhuize said there aren't any problems or flood plain issues or ownership issues for the north and west walls. It is just the south and east wall that we need to handle the other issues. Tom Duer asked if they could state that and then secondarily that the other two sides will have to be up within 4 weeks of city approval. That would give them 31 days to complete the other two sides. Randall Shiflet said if we are looking at giving them 30 -40 days for the north and west walls and then a second date around the end of October for landscaping those 2 sides then the third date is going to be whenever they get approval for the east and south sides. Tom Duer said that I think we should just have 2 dates. One for the finishing the 2 walls they can start now and set a date of like September 15 2011 or October 1, 2011. Then the second date will be the finalization of those other two sides and at that time then the landscape would be required for all of it. That gives us a little more time into the fall and a little more time for the landscape. John Pitstick said that way they will complete the landscape and irrigation all at one time. Greg Van Neiuwenhuize said that I think that the suggestion for a date for the north and west walls of October 1, 2011 is good and then upon City Council approval they have 30 days to have the rest completed. Public Hearing opened at 7:27 pm Carl Orton, 7317 Continental Trail, North Richland Hills, TX 76180, came forward in favor. I own the property directly due south of the padsite in question. First of all I concur with the boards decision as far as delaying the landscaping that goes in there. Having a wall in prior to that would be fine. Just wanted to bring a point up. Ever since the development that went in Keller our creek floods pretty bad and it floods north of our property line on that corner so you may have some issues with the flood plain. How close to the property line is that new wall going to be? John Pitstick said that it is probably 400 -500 feet? Page 15 of 19; 08/11/11 GBA minutes Jacob Surovy, 8120 Long Trail Drive, North Richland Hills, TX 76180 came forward to speak against. We purchased our house in 2006 the other residents before and after we have lost tax valuation and assessor over $80,000 on our property. That is a $400,000 4500,000 neighborhood. The people behind us put their house up for sale about 2 months ago. They paid $505,000 listed it for $510,000 and were told by the realtor that in this neighborhood they couldn't expect more than $410,000. Coincidentally the property values started to drop the same as the DOW has been dropping since the North Tarrant Parkway went in and since the gas well went in. When people are brought to our neighborhood by Real Estate agents and they come by North Tarrant Parkway they see the gas well. Does anyone here think this is architecture for a $400,000 4500,000 neighborhood. That is why I asked the question before. To help the people in the other area. How long is this going to be up? The gas well is there we can't do anything about it. This is totally unacceptable. Does that mean that these walls come down within 2 -3 months after the well is drilled? Brandon McKinley said that the walls will come down when operations are not going to be ongoing in a time frame of 60 -90 days. If we are having a 90 day period with absolutely no activity on site more than likely those walls will come down. Jacob Surovy said that you have already had that period on that site. Brandon McKinley said I disagree. We have had operations going on there since then. Jacob Surovy asked what they call operations? Brandon McKinley said fracturing operations. Jacob Surovy asked if they have had fracturing going on since the first well was drilled? Brandon McKinley said yes. Jacob Surovy said then for a year you have been fracturing? Brandon McKinely said no. Our fracturing operation only lasts for 3 -5 days. I have to go back to my office and get a date for you of when these walls will be coming down. If that will help address this tonight. Jacob Surovy said that it will help address it but what it won't help address is the lowering of our property values. Brandon McKinley said that he can't speak to that. Jacob Surovy said I know you can't but those of us who are living there are not happy with it. Someone talked about royalty payments. We are paying and we aren't being paid. Maybe you are being paid with a royalty payment or lease. We are not and we are paying by a loss of property value. Page 16 of 19; 08/11/11 GBA minutes Tom Duer asked if we could interject this as a possible idea. As it was stated as Mr. Pitstick earlier the sound wall is nothing we require. That is done voluntarily by Chesapeake to try reduce the sound so it doesn't affect the homeowners that are within sound difference of it. What I say here is that the City Council would be someone that you would pursue. If they feel that the aesthetics is more important than the audible sound of drilling they could put within our gas drilling ordinances a stipulation that those walls could only stay up during certain periods and once the drilling is through and if fracturing is not going to happen for another 5 months take the walls down once the drilling is through. This is a problem within the multiple drilling sites. You have some drilling sites where there is just one well. Most of the well sites that we have here in North Richland Hills are multiple well drilling sites. But the City Council is the one should approach and ask if the sound wall is really that important? Chesapeake wants it because they don't want to aggravate the neighbors and also the inspectors who have to deal with the complaints. If they feel the aesthetic value of those walls far outweighs the importance of reducing the decibel levels that are reaching affected homes. That is a call that the City Council will make. That is not something that the Gas Board of Appeals can make. Gas Board just addresses variances from ordinances that are in law now. The City Council are the ones that you should approach regarding the sound walls. Jacob Surovy said that what is important and the ordinance requires is not exceeding a sound level. That is the requirement and Chesapeake has elected to do it with the sound walls. I'm not going to say whether it is appropriate or inappropriate it is not my place to say that. What I am saying is that those walls have been there for 2 years and 2 wells have been drilled. Tom Duer said that again that falls back to the City Council can be more restrictive on those walls and say that if it is not active then you have to take the walls down. Jacob Surovy said I understand that but why is the well approved without knowing when it is going to be complete? John Pitstick said that they have to be complete within 180 days and then they can get an extension for 90 days. Tom Duer said that what we are talking about here are multiple drilling sites. Jacob Surovy said 16 wells and as I understand it 16 permits? Tom Duer said yes. Jacob Surovy said that when this gentleman comes here with an application and permit why isn't he asked when he is going to be done? Tom Duer said that it is stipulated in our ordinance that they have to be completed by a certain date. Jacob Surovy said so he has a requirement by ordinance? Page 17 of 19; 08/11/11 GBA minutes John Pitstick said yes Tom Duer said that they have to come before us with an extension. To give you an example the very first drill site in North Richland Hills at Graham. We were new to this on how the ordinances should be handled. Our experience with that site allowed us to fine tune our ordinances and set time limits on how many days they have from start to finish on the drill site. Jacob Surovy asked if that was to drill? Not by the site. They have been on that site for 2 years and 2 wells have been drilled and that sound wall has been up for 2 years and it has never been taken down. Tom Duer said that is what I am saying. If there is no restriction within the ordinances about when to take the sound wall down the City Council would be the ones that you could approach with that idea. Jacob Surovy said I will. Brandon McKinley said that I think that to provide your concerns I can provide him a date for those walls to come down that should address the issue for now. Jacob Surovy said no. I won't say that because you could tell me that they are going to come down in 2020. That is not going to answer it. Tom Duer said that is why I say to put it into the City Councils hands. Jacob Surovy said that it is my understanding is that typically what happens those sound walls are up for at least 5 years. Tom Duer said that there is nothing to make them take the sound walls down right now. Jacob Surovy said so the walls you have up in North Richland Hills right now including those in Colleyville are going to be there at least 5 years. Randall Shiflet said no. That is not true. Tom Duer said no. Five years is not even accurate. The fact that the sound walls are not even within the provisions of our ordinances there is nothing to talk about. We talk about sound proofing or decibel levels but there is nothing within the ordinances to talk about sound walls. That is why the approach would be to take it to City Council. There has been 2 years and no activity is there a date when those have to come down to where we only have to see the 8 foot brick wall. Jacob Surovy said that this has become a permanent structure. To me anything that is up for 2 years is a permanent structure. Garry Cope said that there is nothing that the Gas Board of Appeals can do about it. Page 18 of 19; 08/11 /11 GBA minutes Tom Duer said that there is nothing that we can do about it but the City Council is the body that can do something about it and put it in the ordinance. Jacob Surovy said I had a very productive meeting with John and I appreciate the cooperation on the part of North Richland Hills. I have not had the opportunity to do that but I will tomorrow to our group. Whether you have the authority or not you need to know. We are not happy with what has happened to our property values. As other issues have come up whether it is a well site or a McDonalds or Wendys over there. We don't want our property values further ruined. Tom Duer said that is why we have the public hearing. Because until we hear from the citizens we don't know. Jacob Surovy said that he also heard from Councilman Welch and Sapp that no one knew that they were disappointed and not satisfied. That is one of the reasons that I have come to communicate that. Tom Duer said and we thank you for coming. Jacob Surovy we have communicated it to Councilman Welch and Sapp. We have spoke to John Pitstick and the Lt from Fire and now to you. Tom Duer said and you just need one last stop at City Council since they make the ordinances. Public Hearing closed at 7:40 pm APPROVED Randy Shiflet, seconded by Garry Cope, motioned to approve GB 2011 -04 with North and West walls to be started immediately and completed by September 15, 2011 and the East and South walls and landscape to be completed within 30 days of city approval of the expansion on the padsite . The motion carried unanimously (4 -0). 6. Adjournment There being no further business, the meeting was adjourned at 7:50 p.m. Chairman Tom Duer' Secretary 01 4mat Page 19 of 19; 08/11/11 GBA minutes