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Group vows to keep fighting after petition drive falls short
By Chris Roark, croark@starlocalnews.com
Attempts by a local group to put changes to Southlake’s natural gas drilling ordinance to a public vote have been put on hold.
The Citizens for Property Rights (CPR), a local general political action committee, on May 29 withdrew its petition that would have forced the Southlake City Council to accept an amended drilling ordinance that is more favorable to drilling companies or to put the proposed changes to a resident vote.
CPR needed about 3,348 signatures to place the item on the November ballot, but it fell short by about 500 signatures.
The petition drive stems from approval of the current ordinance last November that drilling supporters say is too strict.
Among the 25 proposed changes were to lower the bond amount drilling companies must post for vehicles. Currently, the ordinance requires a $50 million bond.
Another key item was to reduce the distance in which a driller notifies a residence of upcoming project from half a mile to 1,000 feet.
CPR members were also troubled by the current ordinance’s requirement to prohibit drilling in the summer months.
“CPR believes these regulations are outrageous and discriminatory,” according to a press release issued by CPR, “thus prohibiting by excessive regulatory restrictions reputable oil and gas companies to do business with Southlake when they can go to other cities like neighboring Westlake in Tarrant County and not have to be penalized for doing business.”
Others are happy to see the petition end unsuccessfully.
“I’m relieved,” said Gordon Aalund, a Southlake resident who strongly supports the current ordinance. “The ordinance that we have in place is much safer and better than the one they wanted on the ballot.”
Aalund agreed that collecting nearly 3,400 signatures was a tall order.
“It’s a big challenge, but there’s a reason why it’s challenging,” Aalund said. “The city doesn’t want special interest groups rewriting its ordinances.”
Aalund said some people signed the petition without knowing all the facts.
“I know of several people who signed it but didn’t know what it meant,” Aalund said. “It’s a complicated issue. You can’t stand in a store while signing it and really understand all the changes that they were proposing.”
CPR officials, on the other hand, said those who opposed the petition would try to strong arm residents from signing the petition.
CPR president Stephen Oren said CPR’s efforts are not finished, however. He said depending on future events, such as the next election cycle, there could be a similar petition drive next year.
“CPR will continue to pressure the city to do what’s right for property owners,” Oren said.
Houser said the group plans to show a video to the public this summer that he said will debunk the rumors and false information that has been spread.
Houser said the video will likely be played at a Southlake Program for the Involvement of Neighborhoods (SPIN) meeting or at a Tea Party meeting.
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