Aurora planners approve Windler regulator station; several commissioners raise concerns about on-site notice

The Aurora Planning and Zoning Commission approved a conditional use permit May 27 for a natural-gas regulator station (F1013) that will support the Windler residential development and an adjacent commercial project, but the decision followed an extended discussion about public notice and sign-posting.

Maria Alvarez, the city’s senior oil and gas planner, told commissioners the project extends a high-pressure distribution line and includes a regulator station and associated above-ground equipment. Alvarez said the project would serve approximately 5,000 new homes, that roughly 95% of the pipe would be buried with about 5% requiring above-ground fencing and a small, 26-gauge metal utility building, and that the station footprint is roughly 55 by 55 feet. Staff said screening, noise mitigation and a high-level environmental memo addressing wildlife, noxious weeds, floodplain and surface protections were included in the review and recommended approval subject to resolution of technical corrections before recordation.

Commissioners questioned the applicant and staff about signage, public notification and emergency planning. Maria Alvarez said notices were mailed to 53 adjacent property owners and two registered neighborhood organizations (55 mailings) and that project information was posted on the city’s oil-and-gas website; she also said Denver International Airport and Adams County were notified. Applicant representatives from HDR and Excel (Caitlyn Reberger and Tessa Lamour) said they posted five of the provided signs but acknowledged weather and other conditions left some signs low to the ground or displaced; they said the last on-site check they recorded was May 19 and that photos submitted with the application were taken May 12.

Commissioner Hogan said the on-site posting was insufficient and said he would vote no because the public-notice signs were not consistently visible on site. Other commissioners said staff and the Oil and Gas Commission’s additional outreach mitigated their concerns, noting that fire life-safety will review the applicant’s emergency action plan and that the site will be subject to additional technical reviews prior to recordation of the site plan.

Commissioner Banka moved to approve the conditional use; the motion passed. The meeting record shows the item approved with five votes to approve and two votes not to approve. The approval is conditioned on the resolution of all technical corrections and outstanding issues before the site plan is recorded.

Next steps include completion of technical corrections, the city’s final site-plan review (including fire life-safety), and recordation of the site plan before construction may proceed.