In a June 27, 2008 filing in state district court, Red Oak Gas is appealing the O&G Board of Appeals' decision on June 18th to deny all of the variances for the proposed Riverwalk site.
Quoting from an article posted last night on the "The Flower Mound Leader", they are challenging the Board's decision saying that it was “without reference to applicable criteria and standards, is illegal in whole or in part, constitutes an abuse of discretion, was arbitrary and capricious, causes Red Oak Gas an unnecessary hardship, is otherwise wrongful, invalid and unenforceable and should be reversed.”
I believe that this is just the start. It is the start of us having our rights stripped away and is nothing more than big 'ole oil and gas forcing themselves into our neighborhoods.
The question is, what will our Town do to protect us? Will they aggressively defend the Board's decision? Remember, the Board's decision was based upon the Town's O&G Ordinance, which was put into place by the Town Council.
This is an opportunity for those in Town government to show that they're listening to us--the residents--rather than the big monied interests of developers and oil and gas.
I believe the Town has an obligation to fight this lawsuit with everything its got. Otherwise, why have Town ordinances? If the Town rolls over for this, then what? A gas well on every corner?
More to come......
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22 comments:
Shame on Cole Mc Dowell!! Even though he is not "Red Oak Gas", he just proved to the people of Flower Mound how much he really cares about the town. I will never shop or eat at Parker Square again (really didn't anyway) or (if it ever happens) River Walk. Thank you Mr. Mc Dowell and Red Oak for finding yet another way to waste my tax dollars! Cole Mc Dowell could care less. With all his money, he could move anywhere he wants after he and Red Oak rips apart the town. Many of us do not have that option. Defend the ordinance! Keep this the town that doesn't take any &%#@ from the developers and gas companies. If you do, Flower Mound will continue to be the place everyone will want to live. Town Council, protect your residents from these bullies! The people of Flower Mound will support you in every way.
Red Oak has now shown that not only do they not respect the wishes of the community, now they don't even respect the law. Tenants will not want to lease from RiverWalk. At least half of the residents (and I suspect more as more become aware of what is going on) are opposed to this site and many will refuse to shop there if it is built. If you were starting a business would you want to establish shop where half of the community was threatening a boycott? What does that do to your business plan? Unless your margins are in the greater than 50% range, you can't be in business with half the potential customer pool.
As far as I am concerned Parker Square no longer exists! I believe Red Oak Gas is getting ready to open an office there. Sorry to the other tennants but your landlord is a greedy, self absorbed, egotistical jerk! I too would never shop at River Walk. I would recycle cans and bottles to pay for my gas to drive elsewhere if I have too. I hope the Town Council can see that their buddy Cole really doesn't care about the town.
If you have time, go to the FM website. Right below the info about the Red Oak Gas appeal is a mini article about FM being in the D Magazine top ten towns. see below
"D Magazine recently released the annual Dallas suburb ranking and listed Flower Mound among the top ten. When compiling the rankings, D Magazine considered a variety of factors including safety, education, housing, and ambiance and air. Flower Mound ranked number 10 and was specifically recognized for reasonably priced housing, recent commercial development, Parker Square’s diverse shopping opportunities, and the Town’s desire to protect the natural ambiance."
Isn't ironic that they mention Parker Square? What would D Magazine say now that Cole Mc Dowell and his Red Oak buddies are bringing legal action against the town? What will gas wells near highly populated neighborhoods and schools along with empty store fronts do to our ranking next time? Town Council..I am pretty sure some of you read this blog. Keep strong and protect what makes FM one of the most desired places to live.
I will never shop at River Walk or at Parker Square either to support and line Cole McDowell's pockets at the expense of ruining the reputation of Flower Mound, the quality of life and decrease our property values. It is all about greed and corruption in this dirty town of ours, let's hope integrity and justice prevail. We need a petition to start to let the town council know that we want the ordinances enforced and do not want a well on every block in town or we will end up like Fort Worth. Check out these links and video and you will see what will happen to Flower Mound if they allow drilling and explosions.
http://www.durangotexas.com/eyesontexas/fortworth/barnettshale.htm
http://www.earthalert.org/Natural%20Gas%20Pipeline%20Safety%20is%20a%20Myth.html
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=I7Xs95Oi_lg
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=CByc4bKaSJM&feature=related
Now we get to let the courts decide our fate instead of the Town. We really screwed up on this one. We've stripped ourselves of our rights to control the oil and gas drilling and handed it over to a judge who could care less! Aren't we smart? And now we get to spend our tax dollars defending ourselves and we probably will lose as Texas tends to be a landowners rights state. Then we can revert to the state code for drilling which is so lax, it is funny. We've really put ourselves in a precarious position. If Red Oak wins this lawsuit- you can bet every gas company around will be in our front yards and we will have no leg to stand on. We should be worried.
I agree with the previous poster. How much did it cost FM for the legal battle with Upper Trinity? 4 million, 5 million. This 150 acre empty site was definitely not the place to make a legal stand. Empty space, state highways used for access and hurt no one. The stand should have been made in Bridlewood where drilling should not be allowed because of traffic and safety concerns. The mineral estate is the dominant estate in Texas.
I think everyone is forgetting that some of the variances had to do with the flood plain, environmentally sensitive areas, parks etc. There is a neighborhood that would be affected by this. My question is, why do towns like FM, Southlake, etc have ordinances if they can't enforce them? Red Oak knew before going into this what the ordinace stated. If fact, the current ordinance came from recommendations of the Stake Holders Committee. Which almost all of the members where either in the Oil & Gas business or mineral rights owners who have since signed leases. There was no deception on the Town's part.
Even if Mr. McDowell and Red Oak had got their way on River Walk, Another gas company would do exactly the same at Bridlewood, Northshore, Hilliard etc. The blame for this is not on the town or the good people who are trying to save it. This will affect all, even if you live 2000' to 3000' from a drill site. Wait till they want to drill 500'or 300' from one of your children's school. Will you then think we should all keep our mouths shut and not fight to uphold the ordinance? Get ready because that will be one of the variances they will ask for at another property.
The town needs a good lawyer!!
I also agree with some of the postings about Cole McDowell. He could care less about this town. I will boycott all his properties including the Riverwalk and hospital,if it ever happens.
It might take a little tougher stance than "I will boycott Parker Square". When you give up your "gas guzzling" Suv, and are willing to turn off the electricity, don't whine about where the fuel comes from. I like air conditioning, heat, and electricity, and I like to drive, so I don't care where it comes from. A well on every corner if need be, unless there is a massive change in the mindset of those who don't mind consuming, but are offended by producing. NIMBY
To the anonymous poster before me.
You are right, it will take a change in the mindset of those that are consuming. That is the only part of your post that makes any sense. Could you make any more assumptions? I do not drive an SUV, I have my thermostat set at 80degrees. (Of course, none of those things run from natural gas but those are the things that you mentnioned.) I could go on but why? I have made changes to the way I live. Unfortunately I think the only people that will benefit from my changes are consumption pigs like yourself.
When will people like you realize that this country is not going to drill it's way out of the energy mess we are in?
You are very short sighted if you think a "well on every corner" is the answer. The folks that will benefit from more wells are the oil and gas companies.
Has anyone wondered why the "pro neighborhood drilling" crowd doesn't even so much as have a blog site, website, or any other forum to express their views? Is it because they have the attention span of a nat? Are they really just that lazy or all underachievers? I've seen more **organized** opposition from community leaders, business owners, and well educated individuals than anything from the other side. All I've seen from the other side, is a bunch of rants and one-off comments. They won't be in our "font yards" you idiot because most of us are not signing leases, and yes, our mineral rights do take precendent, i.e. the right NOT to excercise them. Frankly, we would rather have our children alive, than get a $40/month check. In fact, since you voluntered, we would like to know what your address is, we will promptly forward it to the appropriate gas company (I'm sure the permit and variances will fly through unopposed) and they can drill it right through your living room for all we care. Why stop there, let's put a nuclear reactor in your bedroom, and a coal fired plant in your pool. We have to leave it up to a judge, he/she will be the only one that at least isn't corrupt like all of the other political figures in this town. I'll take my chances with someone who will at least take a stab at upholding the laws (i.e. the ordinances of the Town that were legally set forth) than leave it up to Red Oak and Cole any day of the week.
I think it is naive to think that judges are more impartial or less corrupt than anyone else. They have to run for office too- guess who pays for their campaigns or at least finances part of them? It isn't you and me, it is big money- big oil, big business.
I am not saying we shouldn't fight "neighborhood" drilling- but the fact of the matter is- we picked the wrong fight when we stopped Red Oak from drilling where they were requesting. Their first request was reasonable and had very little effect on neighborhoods (2 homes, one already burned to the ground.) By stopping that from happening- we called attention to our town ordinance- one of the strictest in the state. So strict, that other towns have adopted it as their own. Problem being, we've called attention to how hard it is to drill with that ordinance in place. Very little drilling within our town limits can happen with it in place without variances. Now that we've called attention to it- the courts can decide if it is unconstitutional, and if they deem it to be so since it strips a landowner from reasonable drilling on his own property, a judge can enforce the Texas code on drilling on Flower Mound which is laughable. Now Cherokee Horn and other companies are just sitting back waiting to see what happens in the courts. That hurts our case. We need to concentrate on true neighborhood drilling so that we are not deemed a group that says they are only against urban drilling, but protest everything. That is the only way the ordinance can hold. But, we seem to have already lost that battle. Sometimes you have to give a little to get a lot!
Also, I just want to say I think it is a shame to punish tenants in Parker Square for the actions of their landlord. Those are hardworking businessmen and women who are trying hard to make a living- you do nothing to punish Cole by boycotting their stores or restaurants- you just hurt your neighbors in this town. Even if they leave his property- he would still gets a big tax writeoff at the end of the day for unused/unleased property.
So if we "give" Red Oak their drill site at RiverWalk, other companies wouldn't drill in Bridlewood, and Northshore because like us, they are only for "reasonable" drilling and not drilling in our neighborhoods? Is that really your argument? ...and you are calling me naive? Give the gas companies an inch, and they will take it all. You probably think we should negotiate with terrorists too, appease, appease, appease. That will get you one thing, run over (or dead in the latter case).
Naive, no. Logical and reasonable-yes. We have to pick the battles we most want to win and focus our efforts there. Because we fought Red Oak on a drilling site that had little effect on us- we have now hurt ourselves in our fight to keep drilling out of Northshore and Bridlewood. Our ordinance is in a standstill until a judge rules on it. We've put Northshore and Bridlewood at risk because we fought a battle that resulted in the court being able to decide what is reasonable. Cherokee Horn, Red Oak and other prospective drillers will wait out the court decision and now there is a 50/50 chance that our ordinance could be put on the chopping block and drilling could occur at Northshore and Bridlewood with a lesser setback. I don't think that is naive thinking- just logical.
First, you assume that gas companies are both "logical" and "reasonable". I will concede they act logically but the jury is still out on the reasonable. Your acting like this one case will decide the fate of drill sites in all of Texas from now till the end of time. If the courts wanted to rule (or the legislature wanted to enact a law) that would lay down that in all municipalities everywhere may only drill within x feet of a home, school, etc, don't you think (logically) they would have already done so? This is not the end all of this battle, it costs the town, in effect $0 dollars to deny variances (the board members do not get paid and they already have the facilities), it costs gas companies money to go to court. As far as I'm concerned, the town can deny all day long and at least make the gas companies think twice and maybe cost them some margin. If you eat into the margin enough, you take away the economic incentive to drill. You don't have to take 100% of the revenue just enough of the net operating margin. Even if they rule against it, you can still deny and slow the process, it's all about saying "We're not going to just role over." If Flower Mound is going to be ground zero for this, then so be it, at least it will get decided once and for all and *everyone* can move on. The sooner the better, the legislature has left cities in turmoil and just like illegal immigration, when the state and federal gov't fails us, it's up to the local gov't to fill the void. It's too bad they have to perform that task so frequently these days.
Speaking of margins, here's an interesting article....
http://www.pegasusnews.com/news/2008/jul/08/houston-based-dune-energy-sell-barnett-shale-asset/
Hmmm, I wonder why the margin is lower in the Barnett? Could it be groups such as FMCAUD running up the expense side of the IS? Who cares, one more reason we should be drilling next to the whales and not our children, it also appears to make business sense.
A 50/50 chance is better than the 0 chance we would have had if we had done nothing.
what surprises me is that Mr. McDowell stated in one of the Board meetings this year that the project could survive without the gas wells. If that's the case, then why is he involved in suing the Town....the town that he loves so much.... the town that he wants to protect and provide for it's citizens.
If I was sitting on a potential profit of a few hundred grand a month as Mr. McDowell is-- no measly court costs would deter me. I venture to say that if anyone on this site was sitting on that kind of money- they would not just roll over and let that profit go away- they'd fight it. Because our potential profit is peanuts compared to that number, it is easy to say we wouldn't fight or care- but that would be a lie. Mr. McDowell could just pull the entire hospital/Riverwalk project and drill in the center of his massive acreage without any variances- then we'd all lose out on that one.
Oh geez, here we go again, to get a hospital we have to have a gas well. Is this more "logic"? I can't take it anymore. Please, someone, make the madness stop.
According to Red Oak, there is no place on the Riverwalk site that could be drilled without variances.
This was stated a number of times at the June 18th meeting and is also re-stated in the court filing.
Cole McDowell needs the cash flow from gas wells to make the Riverwalk development happen.
Makes me wonder how solid his business plan is.
I am so sick of hearing that the fight at River Walk was a bad thing. Is everyone forgetting that their were 2 people from 2 different homes that stated disruption of the flood plain will put their homes in danger of severe flooding? I would have to ask, if Red Oak and Cole Mc Dowell knew they couldn't drill without getting many variances granted, why did they bother? Maybe they thought they had more control over the O & G Board. Why did our town spend so much time on the Ordinance if we are not going to allow it to work? What if the O & G board had rolled over and just granted the variances? Then all of the people posting here that say "this wasn't the fight we should have fought" would be upset and worried that they will do the same at Bridlewood or Northshore. Because that is exactly what could happen. Don't blame FMCAUD for speaking up about their concerns, at least they have the guts to do it. They didn't write the ordinance. A group of people in the gas business and citizens who have since signed leases did and then the town approved it!!! Of course that was okay before June 18. All they are doing is trying to get them to uphold it. If Red Oak and Cole didn't sue, you would probably jump on the FMCAUD bandwagon! If that piece of property stays vacant, I am just fine with that. But, there is no way I would feel comfortable being in a hospital 300 to 500 feet away from a gas well or shop and eat there...period!!! If Cole decides to do nothing but drill in a location on that property where he doesn't need variances, well I guess that is his business. But the variances are there to protect the surrounding neighbors from any harm or loss of quality of life. And one more thing, I am sick of being told I am not patriotic because I won't sign away my mineral rights. What is patriotic about the Gas companies giving us a little royalty check (not enough to support my Starbucks habit) but making outrageous profits! Remember they are not government companies, they are private. I say let thim drill in areas where it doesn't affect neighborhoods, schools, parks, flood plains, etc.
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