Can the Town of Flower Mound legally prohibit gas well drilling?
Although the issue of taking of property is one that is the subject of much constitutional debate, a taking of property generally occurs when a government has taken private property for a public use without adequate compensation being paid to the owner. Takings are unconstitutional under both the federal and state constitutions. There are two types of takings: (i) physical occupation (where the government actually occupies someone’s land without any compensation to the owner); or (ii) regulatory taking (where a government regulation denies an owner of the use of his or her land). State and federal courts consistently have held that any local government regulation that prohibited all mining or oil and gas drilling operations inside the local government’s limits was an unconstitutional taking of property since it did not permit the mineral estate owner to either quarry his land or access his minerals. Thus, the right of an owner to access his/her mineral estate cannot be prohibited; howe
Although the issue of the taking of property is one that is the subject of much constitutional debate, a taking of property generally occurs when a government has taken private property for a public use without adequate compensation being paid to the owner. Takings are unconstitutional under both the federal and state constitutions. There are two types of takings: (i) physical occupation (where the government actually occupies someone’s land without any compensation to the owner); or (ii) regulatory taking (where a government regulation denies an owner of the use of his or her land). State and federal courts consistently have held that any local government regulation that prohibited all mining or oil and gas drilling operations inside the local government’s limits was an unconstitutional taking of property since it did not permit the mineral estate owner to either quarry his land or access his minerals. Thus, the right of an owner to access his/her mineral estate cannot be prohibited;
