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Planning Commission recommends conditional use permit for Hinkle Oil & Gas compressor with noise conditions
Summary
The commission recommended approval Aug. 11 of a special use permit for an electric natural‑gas compressor at (listed) 1716 East Wagner Road with conditions requiring third‑party noise verification and installation of sound mitigation if thresholds are exceeded; neighbors pressed for written quiet hours and permanent sound walls.
Aug. 11, 2025 — The Yukon Planning Commission recommended approval of a conditional use permit for a permanent, electric natural‑gas compressor operated by Hinkle Oil and Gas, imposing noise‑related conditions after extended public comment from nearby residents.
Applicant Bobby Hinkle described the project as a small electric compressor placed inside an existing fenced area, installed after a temporary unit demonstrated improved flow. “This is a small natural gas compressor,” Hinkle said during his presentation.
Neighbors said they have experienced ongoing noise from multiple compressors at the site for more than a year and urged stronger mitigation. Denise Heard, whose home is across the street, told the commission the neighborhood can hear compressor noise inside homes and on second floors and asked for written commitments: a permanent sound‑attenuation structure, enforceable quiet hours and updated emergency contact signage. Heard said the applicant had temporarily shut a compressor off on several evenings and that the neighborhood noticed a substantial difference when it was off.
Staff noted the municipal code includes multiple sound standards (70 decibels at a property line; 60 dB at a home wall; 45 dB at 500 feet under the oil‑and‑gas provisions) and recommended conditions to ensure compliance. The commission added conditions requiring third‑party, licensed acoustic verification of sound levels within 30 days of operation, a requirement to install sound attenuation such as acoustic fencing or sound‑dampening walls within 30 days if levels exceed permitted limits or substantiated complaints are received, a prohibition on expansion of use beyond the single proposed compressor, and compliance with municipal, Oklahoma Corporation Commission and ODEQ requirements.
Commissioners debated but did not add specific quiet‑hours restrictions; some residents and the applicant discussed the technical difficulties of repeatedly cycling compressors on and off.
The motion to recommend approval with conditions passed on the record with the following recorded votes: Wright, Geiss, Knuckles, Jones and "Bart" recorded as voting yes. The meeting record shows the additional conditions read into the motion and states that third‑party verification and mitigation will be required if ordinance limits are exceeded.
The commission’s recommendation will be forwarded to City Council for final action.
