OXFORD – Dozens of residents from the Town of Oxford attended a public hearing intended to address procedural changes to a much contested revised zoning ordinance that some residents feel have implications steeped in the gas an oil industry.
At the heart of the matter, 2014 revisions by planning board officials to the town's 2007 zoning ordinances which have created a rift among some community members and the board, the latter insisting the modifications merely give the municipality regulatory control over “material staging areas” within its jurisdiction.
“If we do not regulate the practice of material staging through permitting land use by special exception, then we cannot control it,” said board member Jerry Locke.
But many Oxford residents are concerned that the changes are an ambiguous attempt to make it all the easier for large energy industries to setup shop, and that the Oxford Town Board is inviting shale-gas development by adding material staging areas as a permitted use by “special exception” within its agricultural and commercial districts.
While the proposed ordinance defines material staging areas simply as “temporary material storage,” the term also serves a broad industry term that describes necessary types of storage sites related to the gas and oil industry – which is regulated under the umbrella of the New York State Environmental Conservation Law.
“The Town Board was informed in 2008 that their zoning regulations related to oil and gas drilling were illegal and unenforceable, and now they are adding more permitted uses by ‘special exception’ for activities clearly related to oil and gas drilling,” said landowner Mina Takahashi of Oxford. “We have asked repeatedly that they obtain a legal opinion in writing that the zoning regulations are legal and enforceable, and they have not done so yet,” said Takahashi citing a statement issued to the Town Board by then town attorney Roger Monaco.
“I am advised by the Association of Towns that the New York State Environmental Conservation Act pre-empts the ability of the Town to regulate oil and gas drilling by means of zoning. In other words, the Town Zoning Law regulating oil and gas drilling is invalid and unenforceable,” read Monaco's statement.
While the town board asserts that adding material staging areas gives the town control, the special exception process for permitting such activity could very easily be challenged under New York State Environmental Conservation Law and the permitted use would stand.
“The State’s highest court has upheld a town’s right to prohibit mining activities, including drilling of gas through zoning. That same court has also clarified that if towns with zoning allow those activities as a ‘permitted use,’ they do not have the legal authority to regulate them,” said Oxford resident Trellan Smith in a letter delivered to the board on Wednesday evening.
Residents agreed that if the intentions of the board are to prohibit oil and gas drilling in the residential area of its jurisdiction, the language of the zoning ordinance should clearly state that intention, leaving no room for mixed interpretation.
“The addition of a ‘…but not limited to’ clause to the uses permitted by special exception makes a mockery of any claim that this board is removing the potential for gas drilling in those areas. All instances of 'but not limited to' should be removed,” said Smith of the augmentation.
“The residents of this town have no reason to believe the town board’s claim that the inclusion of ‘material staging area(s)’ has been added as a protection [rather than] an invitation,” said Takahashi.
Another point of contention that was brought into scrutiny amid the at times heated meeting was the absence of a code of ethics, and the possibility of a conflict of interest.
A member of the community suggested that the town draft a code of ethics that could serve as a standard to all municipal employees in an effort to build confidence and transparency between government and the public.
As in a prior August town board meeting, a number of community members in attendance requested that the entirety of the purposed revisions be brought to a public referendum so that Oxford citizens can better understand the board's position. Others in attendance questioned conflict of interest based on fact that three of the board members possess gas leases within the town.
Ultimately at the close of the meeting, no final decisions were made and Town Supervisor Lawrence Wilcox indicated that the revisions to the zoning law “should be looked at more closely” by the town's attorney prior to moving forward.
“It would be negligent for the town board to enact legislation that could weaken its authority without clear legal advisement,” said Takahashi.
The Town of Oxford board meets again on March 11 and the Planning Board meets on February 17.