The City of Boulder agreed Friday to pay a couple who own mineral rights inside the city limits $35,000 for interfering with their property rights, according to a news release from Advance Colorado Action.

Starting in 2013, the city imposed what was supposed to be a short-term moratorium on oil and gas exploration while it reviewed its well permitting rules.

But Boulder never completed its review and didn’t revamp them until last year.

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John and Valorie Wells’ property lies just west of Boulder Reservoir. They sued the city, claiming that the lengthy delay caused by the city’s moratorium was a pretense intended to prevent oil and gas exploration and extraction. That, they alleged, meant the city took their rights to do so in violation of the U.S. Constitution’s Fifth Amendment, which states in part, “nor shall private property be taken for public use without just compensation.” 

“We won this lawsuit when the City lifted its ban,” said John Wells in a news release. “We’re happy to have achieved a victory for property owners in Colorado. The money to compensate for our losses is just icing on the cake.”

They will retain the mineral rights they obtained in 1981 under the settlement and can pursue oil and gas development if they wish.

Dan Burrows, Advance Colorado’s legal director, was the lead attorney for the Wells family throughout the litigation.

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The organization describes itself as an “issue advocacy organization that believes in a smaller, more accountable government,” according to its website.

“This settlement isn’t just a great victory for the Wells Family, but it’s a victory for rule of law and the Constitution,” Burrows said in the release. “Now the Wells family can be made whole for the unjustified actions the City of Boulder took in their irrational battle against property rights.”

The City of Boulder provided the following response via email Monday: 

“The legal landscape around oil and gas regulations continues to be uncertain. While the city does not agree with the plaintiff’s allegations, it was unlikely the city would be in a better economic position litigating this issue as compared to approving the proposed settlement agreement. City Council concurred at its Sept. 1 meeting.”

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