March 26, 2015 VOLU M E 7 | I S SUE 1 3 | 5 0 ¢
BrightonBanner.com A D A M S C O U N T Y, C O L O R A D O
A publication of
Brighton passes new oil and gas ordinance Standards set to allow new well development within city By Lou Ellen Bromley
bromleyclan@hotmail.com After hearing from both sides of the issue regarding oil and gas development within Brighton one last time, the Brighton city council voted 9 to 0 to approve the new ordinance developed by Brighton city staff to allow for the drilling of oil and gas wells in the city. The ordinance council approved will bring the city up to date with the State Oil and Gas Conservation Act and the Colorado Department of Public Health an Environment’s regulations on oil and gas development. Its purpose is to provide protection for the health, safety and welfare of residents by outlining the measures the oil and gas companies must follow to protect the groundwater used for the city’s drink-
ing water, control any air pollution caused by development, control any nuisances brought about by site development and provide traffic protection around site areas. When applying for a permit to develop a drill site the company must also comply with the general standards for approval, these include providing a map of the area to be developed by the oil and gas company, providing a neighborhood notice, providing fencing and sight triangles and constructing temporary noise barriers at the site. The regulations previously on the city’s books were illegal — not meeting the state standards. Brighton would have had to deny a permit to any oil and gas company in most of the city. That could have led to costly legal challenges. One of the concerns often voiced by citizens was the feeling that the city has rushing into a decision on the regulations. Community Development Director Holly Prather pointed out that the city has been working toward the up-dated land use and development codes for three years, and
had spent numerous hours during study sessions, having guest speakers from both sides of the issue address city council, to explain to council members every potential aspect of health concerns and environmental concerns. The various guest speakers have given the city information on what on what hydraulic drilling is, how it is done and what is involved with doing this type drilling and the differences between this style drilling and horizontal drilling Subjects covered by these experts also included the legal aspects as well as noise pollution air pollution, light and other possible concerns. “City staff has spoken with Weld County, Adams County and Greeley city staff, taken several tours of drilling areas in several locations. This is something I feel we have not rushed into as a staff. As a matter of fact we had drafted regulations back as far as 2013 but the oil and gas companies ask us to put the decision on hold so we could continue to work together on the new regulations,”Community Development Di-
rector, Holly Prather said. Prather called the ordinance a “living document” adding that it will need to be changed and up-dated from time to time, to include new technological advances, best management practices and also allow for changes in future regulations and additional rule making. “In the 1980 there was a lot of oil and gas drilling around Brighton, in Weld county and Adams county and it was a different type of drilling, it wasn’t fracking, and it was probably a lot less safe back then, than it is now, but I am pretty healthy and I can’t say I haven’t enjoyed life here, Brighton is a pretty darn good city,” Mayor Dick McLean said. Council woman Lynn Baca said “This ordinance is a way forward for the city of Brighton.” The ordinance drawn up by city staff and adopted by Brighton city council Tuesday night puts the city in compliance with the state. With the new ordinance Brighton is now in compliance with the Colorado State Oil and Gas Conservation Act.
Unfurling the last Banner
Dan Rau of the Brighton Beekeepers Club holds up one of his honeybee hive frames. Rau said that after surviving a rough winter, his hives are now buzzing in anticipation of the season’s first flowers. Photo by Glenn Wallace
Brighton Banner suspending publication By Glenn Wallace
gwallace@colorado communitymedia.com POSTAL ADDRESS
BRIGHTON BANNER (USPS 290)
OFFICE: 8703 Yates Dr., Ste. 210 Westminster, CO 80031 PHONE: 303-566-4100 A legal newspaper of general circulation in Adams County, Colorado, the Brighton Banner is published weekly on Thursday by Colorado Community Media, 8703 Yates Dr., Ste. 210, Westminster, CO 80031. PERIODICALS POSTAGE PAID AT BRIGHTON, COLORADO and additional mailing offices. POSTMASTER: Send address change to: 8703 Yates Dr., Ste. 210 Westminster, CO 80031 DEADLINES: Display: Fri. 11 a.m. Legal: Fri. 11 a.m. | Classified: Mon. 5 p.m. GE T SOCI AL WITH US
P LE A S E R ECYC L E T H I S C O PY
Beekeeping begins in Brighton
Ordinance now allows backyard bee hives By Glenn Wallace
gwallace@coloradocommunitymedia.com Dan Rau suffers an average of 20 bee stings a year. “And almost every time, it’s my fault. It’s when I get cocky.” On a recent sunny morning, Rau drove down a muddy farm road near Barr Lake, to check on a few of his hives. He donned the traditional white bee suit and proceeded to check on the status of the hives. The white hive boxes hummed with activity, with Rau saying the bees were beginning to scout out their surroundings, in anticipating the first flowers of spring. “I went into the winter with 13 hives, and
came out with five,” he said. Across the Front range beekeepers were reporting similar heavy losses according to Rau. But spring had just officially began, and Brighton-area bee enthusiasts have reason to be optimistic about their hobby’s future. The city council had just approved a new ordinance, officially allowing backyard bee keeping within the city limits. Single-family detached homes may now have bees, ducks and chickens kept in backyards. Guidelines, including limits on the number of animals allowed, can be found on the City of Brighton’s website, www.brightonco.gov. Questions can also be directed towards city staffer Aja Tibbs at 303-655-2015. Rau, and other members of the Brighton Bee Club hosted a “Wanna Bee” class last Bees continues on Page 12
This will be the final edition of the Brighton Banner. The paper’s ownership, Colorado Community Media, has announced that it will no longer produce the newspaper. All current subscribers are offered the Northglenn-Thornton Sentinel — covering many of the issues that affect all of Adams County — with an additional 90 days included. The Banner was started by couple Mark Humbert and Allison Lockwood in July of 2009. “I felt that for community things (like the newly rennovated Armory) to succeed, you needed a strong supporter in the newspaper,” Humbert said. The Banner joined Humbert and Lockwood’s already-existing journalistic offering for the Brighton community, including the Daily Post email publication, and community magazine Local Color. Both of which will continue publishing. “The whole idea is to promote our commuity from within,” Humbert said. The Banner was sold to CCM in March of last year, after Humbert was elected to the Brighton City Council. “Oh, it was very hard to let it go, but I had to ethically,” Humbert said. Current and former Banner writers spoke fondly of their time with the paper. “We were always trying to have better accuracy, better stories,” sports writer Michelle Boyer said. “I’ve loved what I’ve been able to do for the community.” “It was amazing to see a new newspaper started to be published when Mark and Allison started printing The Banner. It was a time when a lot of newspapers were closing. The Rocky Mountain News had recently closed, and I wrote for another newspaper, The Commerce City Beacon, which operated covering community news in that community for 22 years before it closed down,” said former reporter Tonja Castaneda, who described the Banner as “a true community paper.”