Mayor: Oxford’s moratorium differs from Binghamton’s failed effort
OXFORD – The Village of Oxford board believes its proposed moratorium on natural gas drilling, which is now in the 60-day comment period, would hold up in court because it follows a different set of criteria than did the city of Binghamton’s ordinance that was recently invalidated.
Mayor Terry Stark described the differences between the two moratoriums to a crowd of about 120 at a public hearing of the draft ordinance Tuesday night at the Oxford American Legion. Trustees agreed by a super majority to pass a nine-month moratorium on Oct. 15. Since then, it has made its way to the Chenango County Planning Board where it was approved, but with concerns, mostly based on the lawsuit filed and won by property and business owners in Binghamton.
Citing a New York Court of Appeal case, Stark said Binghamton’s moratorium failed to meet the criteria because it followed police power authority rather than land use moratoria. “The New York State Court of Appeals draws a distinction between emergency actions to address immediate health or safety problems, on the one hand, and zoning or land use actions intended to address long term issues of growth and development on the other hand,” he read from a document written for the late James A. Coon, former Deputy Counsel of the Department of State. Coon is widely known for his dedication to municipal statutes and land use law and wrote the book, “All You Ever Wanted to Know About Zoning.”
Because Oxford’s new law would rely on land use, it wouldn’t have to show a dire need nor point to a crisis condition in the village that would cause one, the mayor explained. “I believe the Binghamton moratoria is invalid by procedures,” he said.
The mostly pro-moratorium audience felt they would be better suited than Albany or the New York State Department of Conservation to decide what’s best for the village when it comes to natural gas drilling. Mina Takahashi, an organic farmer, said she had presented the village with a petition from 444 residents who are in agreement with the board’s decision to proceed. The village has 1,450 residents. Others, such as Irving Hall, a nationally-recognized 1960s era activist who moved to the village in 2010, commended the mayor and board of trustees for taking the preemptive action.
Contrary to an article in yesterday’s paper about the hearing, the Village of Oxford would join the Village of Owego in Tioga County as the only two locales to have a moratorium in place where the DEC intends to permit the industrial activity first. Owego passed the new law in July.
The NYDEC is revising the latest draft of its regulations for high-volume, hydraulic fracturing. It is unclear when the permitting document will be released.
Mayor Terry Stark described the differences between the two moratoriums to a crowd of about 120 at a public hearing of the draft ordinance Tuesday night at the Oxford American Legion. Trustees agreed by a super majority to pass a nine-month moratorium on Oct. 15. Since then, it has made its way to the Chenango County Planning Board where it was approved, but with concerns, mostly based on the lawsuit filed and won by property and business owners in Binghamton.
Citing a New York Court of Appeal case, Stark said Binghamton’s moratorium failed to meet the criteria because it followed police power authority rather than land use moratoria. “The New York State Court of Appeals draws a distinction between emergency actions to address immediate health or safety problems, on the one hand, and zoning or land use actions intended to address long term issues of growth and development on the other hand,” he read from a document written for the late James A. Coon, former Deputy Counsel of the Department of State. Coon is widely known for his dedication to municipal statutes and land use law and wrote the book, “All You Ever Wanted to Know About Zoning.”
Because Oxford’s new law would rely on land use, it wouldn’t have to show a dire need nor point to a crisis condition in the village that would cause one, the mayor explained. “I believe the Binghamton moratoria is invalid by procedures,” he said.
The mostly pro-moratorium audience felt they would be better suited than Albany or the New York State Department of Conservation to decide what’s best for the village when it comes to natural gas drilling. Mina Takahashi, an organic farmer, said she had presented the village with a petition from 444 residents who are in agreement with the board’s decision to proceed. The village has 1,450 residents. Others, such as Irving Hall, a nationally-recognized 1960s era activist who moved to the village in 2010, commended the mayor and board of trustees for taking the preemptive action.
Contrary to an article in yesterday’s paper about the hearing, the Village of Oxford would join the Village of Owego in Tioga County as the only two locales to have a moratorium in place where the DEC intends to permit the industrial activity first. Owego passed the new law in July.
The NYDEC is revising the latest draft of its regulations for high-volume, hydraulic fracturing. It is unclear when the permitting document will be released.
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