After hearing hours upon hours of public speakers debate the merits of fracking in L.B. Houston Park, City Plan Commissioners were pretty frank about their unsuitability on the subject. Below, a sampling of commissioner comments on December 20:
- "I don't think this is the time or place to vote on this." — Sally Wolfish
- "I just don't feel comfortable voting for the motion today." — Michael Anglin
- "I'm unable to support this motion. I think it is premature. I don't feel well equipped to decide this issue." — Paul Ridley
That night, the commission voted unanimously to deny the permits. But on January 10 (with only a vague reference to potential lawsuits by applicant Trinity East Energy), the commission hit the reset button. Another public hearing on gas drilling is scheduled for February 7.
I'll grant you the threat of litigation, in that any person at any time can file a lawsuit against the city if he feels wronged. Now, whether that case would hold up in court is an entirely different matter.
Minutes from a 2008 meeting of the Park and Recreation Board characterize the city's lease agreement with Trinity East as one of sub-surface mineral rights (hence why it has to get permission for surface drilling). The actual oil and gas lease between the city and Trinity East (which was obtained for a cool $10 and the promise of potential royalties) includes amendments acknowledging that the decision on a specific use permit is at the city's discretion.
However, if commissioner Sally Wolfish is to be believed, a denial of drilling permits would open the door to lawsuits.
The lease also states that before drilling can take place, the City Council must authorize oil and gas drilling on park lands and in the flood plain. (There are currently ordinances against both.)
By all accounts, the City Plan Commission isn't comfortable approving a special use permit to allow natural gas drilling in L.B. Houston Park, because it's currently illegal. Until someone says otherwise, Dallas parklands are not for drilling.
The City Council has the power to amend the ordinance but has neglected to address the issue since the plan commission passed the buck in December.
The closest the council came was to issue a public notice about a potential January 23 hearing on gas drilling, which did not occur.
"It's sort of a chicken-or-the-egg situation, I guess," park planning manager Michael Hellmann said in a January 24 interview with CultureMap.
On paper at least, nothing has changed about the special use permits once again before the plan commission. Drilling in Dallas parklands and flood plains is still illegal, and, ostensibly, wildly unpopular.
In an interview with CultureMap, commissioner Paul Ridley said he still has the same reservations about granting the permits that he did last month.
"We should not be recommending applications to the City Council that are in direct opposition to city ordinances," Ridley says. "It does not appear there will be any action to amend those ordinances before February 7."
For me, the issue isn't even fracking or natural gas drilling. It's about a nonsensical approach to a problem. The City Plan Commission has said it can't in good conscience act in contrast to current city code. The City Council, which can amend the code, is abstaining from the debate until after the commission makes a decision.
Even though commissioners plainly stated that they felt ill-equipped to consider these permits in light of current law, that's exactly what they're being asked to do again on February 7.
For what it's worth, Hellmann says the City Council has placed a new round of public notices to hold a hearing on drilling in parklands on February 13.
Nothing like showing up a week late and a dollar short with the entire city at your doorstep.
Hydraulic fracturing is a relatively new process to extract natural gas from deep within the earth.
