03.16.05
Group pushes for local power
line permit
VELCO claims local review not necessary
BY
LISA MCCORMACK, STOWE REPORTER
A
proposed $20.3 million power line upgrade that would supply
more electricity to the greater Stowe area may require a local
zoning permit before it can be built.
Affected Property Owners of Stowe, a consortium of residents
who oppose the current design plan for the power line, on
Monday asked town officials to investigate whether the project
would be subject to local zoning review. Group representatives
believe both current zoning ordinances and the way the town
has handled other electric department projects in the past
both suggest that a local permit would be needed.
The project, which has been designed by the Vermont Electric
Power Company, is currently under review by the state’s
Public Service Board.
Steve Riley, a Stowe resident who owns property near the proposed
power line, said the project would require a special “conditional
use” permit because certain segments of the new, 115-kilovolt
line would cross property zoned specifically for residential
use only.
“It’s clear to me that our zoning has been set
up to review such projects,” Riley said. “If you
read our zoning regulations, it’s required. It’s
that simple.”
VELCO is unaware of any local permits required for the Lamoille
County power line project, according to Dave Mace, the company’s
manager of public relations.
“Transmission infrastructure projects like this are
regulated under Title 30, Section 248, and the Public Service
Board has sole authority for approving these projects,”
Mace said. “In addition to the Public Service Board,
VELCO must also comply with the requirements of state and
federal regulatory agencies such as the Vermont Agency of
Natural Resources and the U.S. Army Corps of Engineers.”
Property owners opposing the design plan for the project have
said that they understand the need for the power upgrade,
but fear the new power poles and towers would mar their views
and lower their property values. The proposed 115-kilovolt
line would run beside an existing 34.5-kilovolt line along
the Route 100 corridor from Waterbury to Stowe, according
to VELCO design plans.
Riley cited the Wilkins Substation near Cadys Hill Road as
an example of how the town issued a local permit for an electric
department project that also required state approval. Stowe
town officials in 1994 asked the Public Service Board to issue
a certificate of public good for the substation. Before sending
its application to the state, the town submitted its plans
to the Stowe Planning Commission and the now defunct Stowe
Zoning Board of Adjustment. Both zoning boards eventually
approved the project.
Select Board Chairman Dick Marron believes the town must strike
a balance between the need for the power line upgrade and
residents’ concerns about the project. The line is needed
to meet growing demands for power in Stowe and Lamoille County,
where electrical supplies are already inadequate during peak
periods, town officials have said.
Select board members on Monday said a local review of the
power line project may be unnecessary because the public service
board is already reviewing the design details of the project.
In addition, they said that they would participate during
upcoming hearings for the project to ensure that its aesthetic
and environmental impacts are minimal.
A new substation that has been proposed as part of the project
would likely go before the Stowe Development Review Board,
but Selectman Ted Teffner said asking local zoning officials
to review the design plans before the entire project gets
state approval would be too cumbersome.
“It just seems to me that it would be more logical to
wait for the Section 248 (state) approval and then take it
to the DRB,” said Teffner.
Stowe Electric Department incoming General Manager Ellen Tillotson
said she will ask the department’s attorney to investigate
whether local permits would be needed for the project, and
if so, whether they should be secured during or after state
review.
Local planning and zoning regulations are not applicable,
and those bodies do not have direct jurisdiction over Section
248 applications, according to Mace. Instead, the local planning
commission, as well as the select board or other governing
body, generally has legal standing to participate in the Public
Service Board process if the project is located in their town.
Reprinted
with permission of the Stowe Reporter |
