Erie Planning OKs 3rd phase of Westerly, lauds oil and gas compromise

ERIE — The Erie Planning Commission approved a third section to the Westerly project being developed by Southern Land Co., a Tennessee-based real estate developer.  While the project is part of a larger plan that is working its way through town approvals, it also can be representative of how towns can work with oil and gas to co-exist.

The overall concept for Westerly is 1,200 homes on 400 acres, and Southern Land is building it out in phases. Construction is ongoing for the first two filings. The company’s first zoning application was in 2017; it annexed the east side of the property in 2019 and began home construction in 2023.

The planning commission on June 6 approved the third filing, which proposes 264 homes on 150 acres to the west of the existing parcels at Erie Parkway between Weld County Roads 5 and 7. They held a public hearing on the plan, and there was no public comment. The board unanimously approved the plan, and it will now go to the Erie City Council for approval.

The site includes a 30-acre space for a future middle school, 56 acres of open space and a trail system that will run beneath Erie Parkway. This portion of the property will include 114 duplexes, 25 townhomes and 122 single-family lots in a variety of sizes.

Several lots in this phase, however, lie within a  2,000-foot setback from a proposed large multi-well oil and gas pad to the southeast of the property that is undergoing state review, said David Frank, the city’s director of environmental services.

“The applicant voluntarily has agreed not to seek occupancy permits until the facility is completely in production, and when there is no more drilling on site, or until three years after the issuance  of the state permit,” Frank said. “This is a great compromise, I can’t sing the praises of Southern Land enough in this compromise. I wish others were as thoughtful with public health and safety in this part of DJ Basin, when you have both residential and oil and gas development occurring.”

Planning board member Sherri Booth lauded the compromise as “generous.”

There also are two plugged and abandoned wells on the property.

The site also sits above a historic coal mine, Frank said.

“The Eagle Mine started in 1938, and it was operated until the late ‘70s,” Frank said. “This one is extensively mapped. We know where all the workings are, as you move farther to the northeast in the coal field, it is in excess of 400 feet down. They’re very, very deep, and have no impact on residential development. The school (site) has larger foundations, but given the depth, I don’t think there isn’t anything that couldn’t be overcome with engineering.”

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