The city of Loveland will have another 90 days to complete an update of its oil and gas regulations, after Loveland City Council on Tuesday approved a 90-day extension of a six-month development moratorium that was due to expire at the end of the month .
According to city Development Services Director Brett Limbaugh, staff will use the time to conduct further public outreach on the proposed amendment, craft an ordinance and hold formal hearings before council and the city’s Planning Commission. With no applications pending and none anticipated in the coming months, the extension is unlikely to impact any developers, he said.
“We are in the process of rebuilding our regulations because they were done in a different legislature, which was far more pro oil and gas drilling,” Limbaugh said, referring to new statewide oil and gas regulations enacted in 2019. “The legislature that we have right now bumped up the regulations considerably. So now the ones that we have on the books are somewhat obsolete and so you don’t really want to leave any stone unturned here.”
The oil and gas moratorium was enacted by the council on Nov. 28, after a motion by Mayor Jacki Marsh. With new allies on the days following the election, she called for the pause on development in order to give staff time to review the city’s decadent-old standards and update as needed.
Staff came back to council in February with a first draft of proposed regulations that, in many cases, exceeded state or Larimer County regulations. Among them were increased setbacks from “high risk” areas such as schools, nursing homes and medical facilities, a new administrative review process and a revamped “standards document” based on best practices for air quality, water quality and safety regulations.
Since then, staff has also conducted a hybrid town hall to get public feedback on the proposed regulations. In late March, 90 people attended a discussion either in-person or online to express concerns about the potential health and environmental impacts of oil and gas development.
But crafting an ordinance and then holding the required hearings will take more time than the few weeks remaining in the moratorium, Limbaugh said. Staff also wants to give the public a final chance to weigh in, before any formal action is taken on the new regulations.
Another public meeting is scheduled for June 7, Limbaugh said. That one will give residents a chance to speak directly with staff about the new rules.
Marsh and four others — Erin Black, Laura Light-Kovacs, Troy Krenning and Jon Mallo — went on to vote in favor of the extension, but not until the four others put up their best arguments against it.
Councilor Dana Foley called the city’s update process “reinventing the wheel,” and urged adopting the state’s regulations instead. He also objected to the ongoing cost of consulting with oil and gas attorney Matt Sura.
“I think we go back to following what the state says,” Foley said. “Knock it off, save our money, save our staff time and move on.”
Other councilors, including Andrea Samson and Steve Olson, called for Limbaugh to invite oil and gas industry experts to the ongoing debate, to provide the other side of the argument and correct “misinformation” being spread by opponents of development.
“I think it’s important to have both sides, not just one side, not just the emotional and inaccurate side,” Olson said. “But let’s get the facts and let the industry mingle with the people.”
The moratorium is now due to expire on Sept. 1. For more information on proposed changes to Loveland’s oil and gas rules, to watch prior presentations or to leave comments, visit lovgov.org/oilandgas.
