(a) The owner of any parcel upon which an oil or gas well will be located shall be responsible for installation and maintenance of screening and buffering as set forth in this section.
(b) At least ten (10) days prior to commencing any oil or gas well drilling operations within the City and without regard to whether such operation is being performed pursuant to a permit issued under Ohio R.C. 1509.06, and as amended from time to time, or is exempt from such permitting requirement, the parcel owner shall submit to the Department of Planning and Development a line-of-site rendering of sufficient quality and detail as will truly and accurately depict the actual appearance of the well, including storage facilities and all other equipment appurtenant thereto, from the following locations:
(1) All adjacent public rights-of-way; and
(2) All adjacent parcels not also owned by the parcel owner or, if owned by the parcel owner, not used in a common manner and/or as part of a common site development.
The line-of-site renderings shall take into consideration the length of any public rights-of-way or property lines abutting the parcel where the well is to be located and, when the distances involved are significant enough to warrant multiple line-of-sight renderings along any such lines, the Director of Planning may in his sole discretion request from the parcel owner such additional renderings. In the sole discretion of the Director, if a topographical map will suffice for purposes of this section, the Director may waive the requirement for line-of-sight renderings and utilize the topographical map.
(c) The well, including storage facilities and all other equipment appurtenant thereto, shall be fully screened at eye-level view from the locations set forth in subsections (b)(1) and (2) as follows:
(1) The built and natural environments in the area, as well as the topography, shall be taken into account to ensure full screening at eye-level view.
(2) Preference in all cases shall be for the sole use of live vegetative growth of species native to the Northeastern Ohio region, or which are readily adaptable to these climate and soil conditions, as will provide screening throughout the entire year and which, once established, will not require further maintenance to sustain them. Species which mature quickly and whose average life spans correlate with the anticipated operational life of the well should be utilized whenever possible. The minimum size of vegetation at initial planting shall be specified.
(3) When, owing to any peculiar site conditions present, it is necessary to use non-vegetative means to accomplish full screening, preference shall be given to the use of natural materials to accomplish the screening, although earthen mounding is to be avoided whenever possible. In such instances, live vegetative growth shall be used in conjunction with such other means to the fullest extent possible.
(4) In all cases the preference shall be to place the screening as near to the well site as possible. The precise location of screening shall be determined on a case-by-case basis to maximize the screening and minimize cost to the parcel owner where practicable.
(5) Where an adjacent parcel is not developed nor in the process of being developed, the parcel owner may elect to delay the installation of any screening until such development occurs.
(Ord. 06-0-72. Passed 6-20-06; Ord. 18-O-075. Passed 9-4-18.)