Hello United Wimbledon/Neighbors. As you know the Arlington Planning and Zoning Commission approved the zoning cases: ZA11-6 - To change the zoning of 55.066 acres at 4950 Bowen Road from PD to O. SUP 11-9 - A Specific Use Permit to drill on the 4.426 acre Rush Creek Drill Site. At their meeting on December 7, 2011 the members of the Oak Lake Homeowners Association overwhelmed the P&Z Commissioners with their speakers in support of the Rush Creek Drill Site. The proposed site is near the Southwest corner of Bowen and Bardin Roads and therefore will not impact the residents of the Oak Lake neighborhood since they are well West of the site. The noise, traffic, health hazards and inconvenience of the industrial drill site will not impact them. According to Chesapeake Energy, the Rush Creek drill site will not be within 600 feet of homes to the East and North of the site. However, the 600 feet does reach across Bowen Road and the Bardin Road right of way, so the site will be very close to residents on both streets. The site will definitely be visible from Bowen Road and the Bardin Road intersection. Chesapeake is planning on 22 wells at this location so the site will be active for many years. I personally do not think that an industrial drill site belongs in our neighborhood, and I plan to oppose it. However some neighbors do not have a problem with having the drill site in the neighborhood and want the royalties from gas production. Some think that since we got our bonus check in 2007 we should let Chesapeake drill at the Rush Creek site. If you recall, in 2007 United Neighbors was negotiating with Dale Property Services, who were representing Chesapeake, and Paloma Resources. Paloma was planning on drilling at the Rush Creek site, and Chesapeake was planning to drill at a location Northwest of Bowen Road and Pleasant Ridge in Dalworthington Gardens. Both were offering about the same in lease terms and signing bonus money so United Neighbors went with Dale Resources for $15,850/acre in bonus money. The plans for the Dalworthington Gardens drill site fell through when the DWG City Council denied the zoning change for the drill site. So Chesapeake is now trying to obtain the zoning change for the Rush Creek site. Chesapeake was denied their first attempt to get the zoning changes in June of 2010 by both P&Z and City Council. Chesapeake extended some of our gas leases by using the force majeure clause in the lease for a year. If you were in the group of neighbors that received the force majeure letter and did not receive a 2 year option bonus check, you now own your mineral rights again since the 3 year lease and 1 year of force majeure has expired. Be aware that if the zoning change is approved, Chesapeake or their representatives will be showing up at your door trying to lease your mineral rights. The days of $15,850/acre signing bonus checks are over and Chesapeake will try to lease your minerals for as little as possible since natural gas is selling at very low prices, I've heard that $3,500/acre is considered high today. So, what I'm saying is don't be in a hurry to lease your minerals. The Arlington City Council will hold a public hearing on the 2 zoning cases on Tuesday, January 24 at 6:30 at city hall. If you are concerned about having an industrial drill site in your neighborhood please send notes to City Council members. I've listed the City Council members email addresses below. If you think having an industrial drill site in the neighborhood will have no impact on your neighbors and think the small amount of royalty payments is more important than quality of life then you can give your support to these cases. Whether you are for or against, please attend the Council meeting on the 24th and let Council know your thoughts and concerns. The attached flier is being distributed by our neighbors in Deerwood Park. Their neighborhood and the Ouro Verde neighborhood will be impacted the most if this zoning case is approved. George Hoyer Your United Wimbledon and United Neighbors Representative for the Wimbledon Neighborhood Here are the email addresses for Arlington City Council members. We are in District 2, and our Council member is Sheri Capehart. | 
As a concerned Arlington resident, our council needs to remember that your grandpas traditional vertical wells using 2,000 psi were not water and chemically intensive and did not use detonation guns to fracture unconventional shale gas sources at 8-10,000 psi in the air shed of urban, highly populated areas.
ReplyDeleteThe days of being nieve are over. There are serious concerns about allowing this highly Industrial activity close or near your neighborhoods. The pay off in royalties or bonuses is not even enough to consider this. If you have not seen what has happened in other neighborhoods like Fort Worth you need to do so. These are the years of " BUYER"S REMORSE " for too many who thought it was free money to allow this to happen in their neighborhood. I have been working on these issues since 2005. First trying to regulate it, then trying educate people of the potential pit falls, then trying to at least get people to join together to dispell the lies and tactics of land men and get adequate leases and protect their neighborhoods as best they could IF THEY chose to lease. Now as VP of a group called NCTCA we are trying to fight against the continual battle for justice as this Industry runs pipelines through neighborhoods and attempts to steal people's mineral interest through antiquated state rules meant to benefit this renegade Industry that cares for nothin in spite of their so called Good Neighbor and Environmental PR propganda TV and Media Ads.They will spend millions of dollars trying to convince people they care rather than spend one cent actually doing anything that minimizes environmental risk. Everyone needs to watch this UTube video. http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=dEB_Wwe-uBM&feature=related
ReplyDeleteJUST SAY NO MORE the money you make which now is literally nothing will never ballance the loss of quality of life, risk to your's and your childrens health, poteential loss of property value, risk to and waste of our more precious natural resource WATER. Save our communities now. JUST SAY NO MORE.