Developers could have to build new homes at least 150 feet away from an oil well under proposed changes to the city’s oil and gas zoning regulations, which were the subject of a lengthy debate at an Aurora City Council meeting April 21.

In the coming weeks, council members will formally vote on the amendments, which drew ire from some Aurora residents who are against all oil drilling in the city.

The amendments put stricter regulations on oil and gas developers than the city’s current ordinance, but concerned residents still say the potential adverse health effects caused by oil drilling were not addressed by potential changes.

The modifications to the city’s oil and gas regulations dictate that there must be a 150-foot setback from an oil well to the lot line of a house, and potential homeowners are required to be notified about the oil well.

The original amendment introduced at an Aurora City Council meeting in February required the setback to be 350 feet.

But city officials were concerned that the 350-foot setback could significantly reduce the number of new homes that could be built in the city.

Ultimately, a majority of council members decided it should be up to the homeowner whether or not they want to live close to an oil drilling operation.

Aurora resident Sonia Skakich-Scrima called the new setback requirements “criminal” because of the potential adverse health impacts.

She cited a Colorado School of Public Health study published in March that said that oil drilling operations could contribute to health problems. Oil and gas industry trade groups have criticized the study.

“They’re operating in the absence of information,” said Skakich-Scrima, who attended the meeting. “That’s not good policy making.” Skakich-Scrima is a member of What The Frack? Arapahoe, a grassroots group that has spent the past several months trying to convince council members of the need for a moratorium on oil and gas development in the city.

The new regulations will also require a conditional use permit for developers who want to drill for oil within 1,000 feet of a city-owned water reservoir, park, open space, golf course or residential subdivision.

So far, one developer has applied for a drilling permit in Aurora, according to Jim Sayre, manager of zoning and development review for the city.

Anadarko Petroleum Corporation filed paperwork with the state’s Oil and Gas Conservation Commission to drill at a site near East 56th Avenue and Harvest Road in east Aurora. He said the nearest subdivision to the site is Green Valley Ranch, two miles away.

The state has approved the permit but the company has yet to apply with the city, Sayre said.

A few months ago, Aurora residents in the Cross Creek neighborhood were concerned that Anadarko would be drilling near their homes, but Sayre said the developer had applied for a drilling and spacing unit plan near that area, and had not applied to drill a well.

A decision about whether to require or encourage developers to use best management practices when drilling a well sparked a lengthy debate among council members.

State laws only allow for cities to regulate land uses for developers, not operational or technical aspects of oil and gas development.

That’s why Aurora can’t require the developers to use best management practices, said Deputy City Attorney Bob Rogers.

“We don’t have the authority to do that,” he said at the meeting. Even if the city required oil and gas developers to test the water before and after a drilling operation, that would be against the law, he said.

Instead, council members agreed that they’d encourage best management practices.

An idea offered by Councilwoman Molly Markert to require developers to explicitly describe the economic and energy-related benefits of each drilling operation in the city was shot down at the meeting.

Rogers said council members are not legally allowed to use information like that to approve or deny a drilling permit, so asking for it would be pointless.

Councilman Bob Broom said developers should not be asked to work through cumbersome regulations like Markert’s proposal if they want to drill in the city, since they will be contributing to the local economy.

Still, Markert said she wished developers would outline the advantages of drilling.

“I think having some quantifiable facts in terms of the benefits is valuable to us,” she said.

The city’s new ordinance will also require oil and gas developers to tell the city where and when truck traffic related to the drilling operation will be occurring.

“If they are going right by a residential area we can say ‘either limit your hours or redirect that truck,’” Sayre said.

Aurora council members also agreed at the meeting to add homeowners to the city’s Oil and Gas Development Subcommittee, at the request of Councilwoman Renie Peterson, who said she was disappointed with the membership list. The subcommittee was developed several months ago and includes about 20 city staff members and representatives from the oil and gas industry. The committee regularly weighs in on drilling issues, and Aurora residents were not asked to be on that committee, she said.

“It doesn’t seem like the people are highly represented in this,” she said. But Councilman Brad Pierce said the residents on the committee have to be informed of what the city can and cannot do under state law.

“They should comment and give input on the things that the city can control,” he said.

The city’s final amendments on oil and gas regulations weren’t enough to allay concerns of Aurora residents like Skakich-Scrima. She’s worried that council members aren’t talking about public health and safety affects of oil and gas drilling.

“No one mentioned anything about public health,” she said. “Science was not in the room today.”

Reach reporter Sara Castellanos at 720-449-9036 or sara@aurorasentinel.com.