Friday, Aug. 15, 2008

Neighbors: Gas wells no big deal

By MICHAEL HINES

News-Mirror Writer

Some Mansfield leaders may worry about whether residential development will come to South Point if gas wells continue being constructed there. Wayne Cloutier certainly doesn’t see a big deal.

Cloutier, 45, moved into his 1 1/2 story, four-bedroom home in the Sendera Ranch housing development about four years ago despite the fact that the north Fort Worth neighborhood had gas wells.

"We’ve know some people in Bridgeport that have them on their property," he said, adding that moving to a place with gas sites nearby depends on factors beyond the gas well site, such as home prices and upkeep.

That kind of outlook may determine how an area planned to be a major economic cog for Mansfield turns out.

Council members have approved adding two new pad sites to an existing site given to EOG Resources, which had asked the city for permission to install about 40 new gas wells on five pad sites — four new sites plus the existing one — in the South Point area.

James Rudnicki, who proposed the compromise, sees little likelihood that quality residential development will come with too much gas well development in the location.

But Aric Head, senior planner project manager for Jacobs Carter Burgess engineering firm helping EOG, sees little validity to many of Rudnicki’s claims.

"All of his points are incorrect," Head said.

South Point is a residential and retail development northwest of the intersection of Texas 360 and U.S. 287. It is expected to have more than 2,000 single-family homes in nine residential villages ranging from 24 acres to 77 acres. It makes up 870 acres of The Reserve, a 3,000-acre project.

The land has gone through several hands, and now belongs to Rubloff Development Group. The firm has said the master plan for the rest of South Point is expected to wrap up in about a month, though no definite timetable has been in place for the development. The area north of Lone Star Road has seen single-family developments as well as neighborhood and community parks being built.

Worries have included if such development would extend south of Lone Star Road, which makes up about 60 percent to 70 percent of the area. While 450-460 houses are expected north of Lone Star Road, the rest of the housing is expected south.

EOG presented evidence during the July 28 council meeting pointing to neighborhoods in north Fort Worth and Haslet that have seen residential development. Council members were given a list of such neighborhoods as well as Tarrant Appraisal District data regarding lot values for adjacent and non-adjacent average home prices. For council member Greg Kunasek, the information showed reason for optimism.

"I found the report very enlightening from the regard that the homes, based on TAD valuations, were every bit as strong as any other home in the neighborhood," he said. "It’s not the case that the sky is falling. I think with the situation we find ourselves in, gas wells or no gas wells, the construction of any residential development in South Point is not going to happen tomorrow."

But Rudnicki questioned much of the data. He explained that the day he received it in the mail, he spent hours going through the information. To start with, Rudnicki points out that the TAD data wasn’t an appraisal. Adjustments weren’t apparent regarding issues such as lot size, location, view or style of countertops.

"We can’t objectively evaluate if that home is worth more or less based on that appraisal," he said.

He had other worries. The gas well developments were situated on the perimeter of the housing developments — with a site at Trophy Club having an LPGA golf course surrounding the neighborhood and between the neighborhood and gas well site — and those developments were on very large lot sizes. What’s more, the housing developments appeared to exist before the gas wells arrived. Rudnicki also pointed out that many of the property owners likely owned the mineral rights, allowing them to benefit from gas well work.

"That is not South Point. No homeowner will ever own the mineral rights," Rudnicki said.

But Head doesn’t share those views.

He points out that some locations had gas well sites before the residences were built, in particular the Tehama Ridge development because his company worked on those gas well sites. The data didn’t look at appraisals or mineral right ownership, but the company wasn’t attempting to address those issues in the presentation to the council. What’s more, the TAD data shows the best data available in Head’s eyes, and he saw plenty of the well sites surrounded by homes and not simply on the outskirts of developments.

"The picture’s worth a thousand words," Head said.

A gas well moving in just across the street from her backyard was of little worry to one 71-year-old retiree who declined to give her name. The former City of Fort Worth employee said she and her husband had moved into the home in the Avondale Farms neighborhood about 3 1/2 years ago. The gas well came July 2007 and remained for about six months before work was completed and the well capped.

"It has not bothered us at all," she said.