FORT COLLINS - The Fort Collins City Council was presented Tuesday night with an array of measures it could take in response to the potential of increased oil and natural-gas development within city limits.

City councilors dug into the issue Tuesday night for the first time since a proposed drilling moratorium failed to gain the necessary votes in June.

Councilman Kelly Ohlson stressed the importance of properly regulating an industry he believed could damage Fort Collins' "brand" if left unchecked.

"This is an economic issue," he said. "The brand is the city of Fort Collins."

Fort Collins has only eight producing wells, according to the city, though oil and gas operators have expressed interest in hydraulically fracturing more wells in the city. Fracturing, which involves pumping water, sand and chemicals into shale to release trapped oil and gas, has generated controversy as operations creep closer to residential areas along the Front Range.

Staffers outlined a variety of ways the city could gain control over oil and gas development without upsetting the state of Colorado's overarching authority.

"You've put a lot of things on the table," Councilman Ben Manvel told city