Oil and gas drilling plan OK’d for 55 square miles in Aurora, including area where 12,500 homes are planned – By Mark Jaffe (Colorado Sun) / Nov 3, 2022
State regulators confirmed plan Crestone Peak has been working on since 2020, saying Colorado’s new permitting process is “workable, protective”
A sprawling plan to develop a total of 151 oil and gas wells on 20 sites in the still rural, but quickly developing northeastern edge of the City of Aurora was approved Wednesday by the Colorado Oil and Gas Conservation Commission.
Crestone Peak Resources’ Box Elder Comprehensive Area Plan encompasses 55 square miles that range from minority communities to the nests of bald eagles and burrowing owls.
On one edge is Aurora Highlands, which developers, in a commission filing, estimate will eventually hold 12,500 homes and 60,000 residents. The development is east of E-470, bounded on the north by East 48th Avenue and East 26th Avenue on the south.
Aurora Highlands had initially lodged a protest about the plan by Crestone, which is a subsidiary of Civitas Resources, but just before Wednesday’s hearing withdrew it, saying it had reached an agreement with the driller.
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