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BK:00027 PG:0895 <br /> determine the adequacy of applicable State and federal regulatory programs in regulating and <br /> mitigating such impacts in Lee County's particular natural and man-made environment,and to <br /> consider enactment of any appropriate additional best management practices to properly <br /> address such impacts; and, <br /> (22)The Board further finds it necessary to provide for additional time to study the impacts, <br /> including financial impacts,on the County's roads and other infrastructure and services and to <br /> determine the financial damages that my result to the County, its citizens and residents; and; <br /> (23)The County has already initiated the process of revising and updating its land use plan to <br /> consider whether, and to what extent the impacts of hydraulic fracturing will impact zoning, and <br /> the appropriate zones in which such use is appropriate,which process is scheduled for <br /> completion in approximately months.Zoning for oil and gas development and <br /> developing standards for appropriate County permits should be done in coordination with this <br /> update of the zoning ordinance; <br /> WHEREAS,the Board of Commissioners of Lee County has considered the following actions to <br /> address the problems or conditions set forth above and found them to be inadequate: <br /> (1)The Board has considered taking no action as it relates to planning and zoning for hydraulic <br /> fracturing. However there are serious questions,for the reasons stated herein,whether the <br /> current state and federal regulations are adequate to protect the County's interests and the <br /> interests of its citizens,and,therefore, it is not in the best interest of the County to allow oil and <br /> gas development activities without further study and appropriate local regulation. <br /> (2)The county's Unified Development Ordinance does not, by itself, act as an adequate <br /> regulatory tool because it would either allow or not allow oil and gas development within <br /> designated zones without the necessary information regarding the location of the oil or gas <br /> reserves. Furthermore, in zones where it would be allowed as an industrial use,there must be <br /> standards specific to oil and gas development because of its highly unusual nature.This is a <br /> circumstance for which conditional use zoning may be appropriate to provide circumstance-and <br /> location-specific regulations to ensure the public health and the safety of the residents of Lee <br /> County are protected. <br /> (3)Other existing County ordinances generally applicable to development such as erosion and <br /> sedimentation control, water supply watershed regulations, setbacks and buffers regulate only <br /> specific, limited impacts and are not adequate to regulate the wide range of impacts of oil and <br /> gas development. <br /> (4) Establishing a permitting process for oil or gas development without thorough study would <br /> be premature and could result in standards that are inadequate to regulate or mitigate the local <br /> impacts,or that are unnecessarily stringent and might be subject to legal challenge as <br /> preempted by the state regulatory programs.The state regulatory program was finalized very <br /> recently and is currently subject to legal challenge. More time is needed for Lee County to <br /> determine what conditions are necessary and reasonable to supplement the State programs <br /> without being subject to preemption. <br />