It is recommended that the City Council adopt the attached ordinance amending Chapter 15, Article II – Gas Drilling and Production to require City Council approval for the drilling of a gas well or construction of a freshwater fracture ponds within a designated Urban Village.

Chapter 15, Article II of the City Code, as amended in 2009, regulates gas drilling in Fort Worth.

Staff recommends that the ordinance be amended to require City Council approval of any gas wells or freshwater fracture ponds within the boundaries of an urban village. Substantial taxpayer dollars have been and will be invested in urban villages for infrastructure and streetscape and pedestrian enhancements in order to spur private development. City Council review and approval of drill sites and freshwater fracture ponds will ensure that key properties remain developable as commercial and mixed use projects in order to maximize the return on the taxpayer's investment. This is consistent with the City Council's efforts to balance the goal of promoting orderly growth and development with the rights of property owners to produce their minerals.

Urban village boundaries are currently identified in the 2009 Comprehensive Plan and highlighted in the attached exhibits. These boundaries may be amended from time to time in future updates of the Comprehensive Plan as adopted by the City Council.