OXFORD – Last Wednesday evening, Town of Oxford officials passed legislation that allows certain variance of zoning laws by special exception – despite being strongly opposed by a number of community members.
At a Town Board meeting held in February, Town Supervisor Lawrence Wilcox set the matter down to be discussed with the current town attorney, Ed Downey, who was present at this month's meeting to address concerns and questions of the board.
When called upon, Downey more or less confirmed that the decision to move forward with the law was legally sound, but many of his legal queries were heavily scrutinized by community members.
More alarming to some community members, the issue of motive was brought into question once again as it was revealed that several of the Town Board and Town Planning Board personnel have current leases with gas companies within the town.
“Residents feel that the Town Board ignored the public's request that the board members follow the town's code of ethics which requires them to disclose financial conflicts of interest in legislation they are voting on,” said Oxford resident Mena Takahashi.
One resident presented and recited the Town’s own code of ethics to the Board – which clearly defines a “Disclosure of interest in legislation” clause.
The clause directs any town official – whether paid or not – to publicly disclose on the record the nature and extent of any financial or other private interest he/she has in such legislation.
Wilcox, who also serves as Chenango County Board of Supervisors Chair, said that under former town attorney Roger Monaco the Board was never instructed to disclose information regarding gas leases that council members may have, and current acting town attorney Ed Downey declined to comment on the issue.
In an Evening Sun article dated March of 2008, “gas well leasing and compulsory integration” is listed as one of Downey's areas of expertise.
During the meeting and of “grave concern” to residents, Downey stated that gas companies only require 80 percent of spacing unit leased – while the New York law indicates that only 60 percent of the acreage in a proposed drilling unit must agree to lease their land before the state oil and gas board will consider a driller's petition for compulsory integration.
Compulsory integration or “forced pooling” is an acquisition tactic that gas and mining companies use to compel holdout landowners to join into gas-leasing agreements with their neighbors. While the specific provisions of the laws vary from state to state, drillers are generally allowed to extract minerals from a large area or "pool" if leases have been negotiated for a certain percentage of that land within the pool.
Town board members insist that they are adding the “Material Staging Areas as a permitted use by special exception” as a protection, to be able to permit or deny an application to set up a Material Staging Area; but a New York Environmental Conservation Law gives the DEC authority over the operations of the gas industry.
While Downey and at least two Board members strongly insisted that the passed law has nothing to do with gas drilling, community members still disagree citing an April 2014 Town Planning Board meeting, board members acknowledged that without “material staging areas” there could be no drilling.
“What is clear, is that until the members of these boards acknowledge on the record what their interests really are, their motivations will remain in question, said resident Trellan Smith. “As a member of this community I value the input of every resident of the town, It is time this board and the Town Planning Board afford the same respect, and show the same courtesy to the people they were elected to represent.”
Despite repeated questions and grave concerns expressed by residents, the town board passed Local Law #1-2015 in a vote, 4 to 1. with councilman Ron Charles voting “no.”
Material Staging Areas are a permitted use by special exception, and the Town Planning Board is in charge of all special-exception permitting process; and oil & gas drilling has been removed from residential districts with a loophole added so while it is no longer listed, it can still be considered for a special-exception permit in the residential districts. 
Said Takahashi, “Most alarming is that the town board ignored the public's request that the board members follow the town's code of ethics which requires them to disclose financial conflicts of interest in legislation they are voting on. Oxford resident Trellan Smith summed it up in her comments to the board that evening: This board has lost public trust.”