Coffee Shop Denied, Gas Wells Welcome!

From  Council shoots down proposed coffee shop near university 

Greeley City Council members on Tuesday (7/16) unanimously denied a proposal to convert a rundown corner market near the University of Northern Colorado into a coffee shop.

• ..residents who live closest to the site said they were concerned about the noise and traffic that could come from the shop..[They also] said a coffee shop is not compatible with the completely residential nature of the neighborhood..[Even] Greeley planners recommended that the city council deny the application based on the fact that the property should not be zoned commercial in a uniformly residential area..."City council members were receptive to the idea of the coffee shop, but said [the three] residents' concerns moved them to deny the proposal"

So, the coffee shop is denied, but they don't have any qualms about approving the placement of multiple gas wells within a residential zone close to houses and schools? What about the concerns of residents in Fox Run and near Northridge to have an industrial site spring up, with noise and traffic and unhealthy fumes? 

What about the concerns of more than forty people who spoke out against drilling in Fox Run on May 7th, at the city council's public hearing? Why did council members not care about any of those pleas? The same is true for the Planning Commissioners, save Eddie Mirick. After excellent and compelling testimony against putting in 12 horizontal wells in Northridge, near the Sheep Draw, all but Mirick voted in favor of the drilling.

Mayor Says:"Fracking issue is separate from Use by Special Review".

No, it isn't!  Not when gas wells, and their accompanying condensate tanks, flares and separators are planned near houses, parks and nature trails! The mayor said it more than once, perhaps to justify his decision to allow gas wells in Fox Run. Council member Donna Sapienza tried justifying hers too when, after the vote and a short break in proceedings, she murmured to councilman Mike Finn beside her:

"I'm really threatened by them, but it was easier than I thought it would be, but..what I did to think this through, was the constant off topic stuff, but that was their point."

No, the point people tried to make at the special hearing on May 7th, is that drilling operations, and the production process of gas and oil, pose a hazard to people's health. An industrial site with hazardous substances, and waste products has no place in a residential area, and Greeley's 2020 Comprehensive Plan, "the official tool used to express a community vision.." certainly points to that: with these goals:

“Assuring the development of a safe and pleasant community; improving the visual appeal of the community;..[to] Disallow high impact agricultural and heavy industrial land uses that generate obnoxious influences, such as noise, fumes, or hazards." 

The amended version valid till 2060, states on page 8: 

“Quality of life” of a community takes into account... the image and visual appearance of the community"

And, on page 16: 

1 Seek economic growth in business sectors which maintain quality environmental practices which improve the area’s image and appeal (see also EC2C1a and EN5G3) 

2 Develop strategies to disallow, discourage and/or mitigate impacts from businesses unsuitable for an urban environment, or which produce a product or service which significantly detracts from the local image or quality of life and deters community investment (see also LU1C2)

With those guidelines/directives it is only right and logical, to deny placement of gas wells within residential areas, or where people and children spend time outdoors such as schoolyards, parks, and nature trails.