| 11.29.04
BY
SCOTT MONROE, STOWE REPORTER
As
conservation officials moved closer this week to paying for
a conservation easement to the Nichols field, town planners
who are examining a proposal to run new power lines on 58-foot-high
structures through Stowe realized the new route might encroach
on the town’s so-called agricultural “gateway.”
The Stowe Land Trust on Monday announced that it had received
the $100,000 grant it had applied for from the Vermont Housing
and Conservation Board (VHCB) and an additional $43,000 donation
from the Freeman Foundation – both will help pay for
the total easement price of $291,000. Combined with the $125,000
bond voters approved at Town Meeting, the land trust needs
only about $30,000 more for acquisition of the nearly 40-acre
open meadow located along Route 100 south of Stowe village.
The proposed power line is part of a $13.4 million power upgrade
for Lamoille County that has been requested by local electric
utilities to service growth for the next few decades. Potential
of taller power lines with a 75 foot right-of-way running
on the edge of Nichols field caught town planners off guard
and appeared to put that portion of the line at odds with
the land trust’s easement.
Stowe’s Planning Commission last Monday asked officials
from Vermont Electric Power, the company designing the upgrade,
to return for a follow-up meeting on May 3 at 5:30 p.m. so
residents who own property on the proposed line’s route
could have a chance to examine the plan. Because of an error
in mailing notices to the estimated 59 property owners affected
by the route, the Planning Commission felt that townspeople
should have a second chance to have questions answered.
The new 115 kilovolt power line would primarily follow the
existing route of the smaller 34.5 kilovolt line, according
to a VELCO spokesperson. However, a topgraphical from the
town’s planning department indicates that the proposed
line would deviate slightly onto the Nichols’ side of
the Little River. Planners are still studying the proposal
to determine what changes, if any, electric officials need
to make.
“It’s definitely a puzzle right now,” said
Tom Jackman, Stowe’s director of planning. “I’m
hoping we can work with VELCO and we get a large turnout at
the next meeting to look at these issues.”
Jackman said they might ask electric officials to design an
alternate route or request that a portion of the line be buried
underground, which would cost eight to 10 times as much, according
to a VELCO spokesperson.
Heather Furman, executive director of the Stowe Land Trust,
said VELCO might reduce the size of the power line poles to
minimize the visual impact on the land, particularly toward
the Moscow area where the vista of Mount Mansfield stretches
over the field. “Obviously, we’re disappointed
in the proposal of deviation from the existing right of way,”
she said, “but we understand there are energy needs
that must be met.”
However, Furman said voters at Town Meeting clearly identified
the Nichols field as a site that should be protected from
future development.
“People recognize it as Stowe’s front yard,”
Furman said of Nichols field. “The state gave us money
to protect the agricultural soils...they’re some of
the highest quality in the state. Through the easement, those
soils are protected forever.”
Life-long resident John Nichols, who sold the development
rights to what remains of his family’s farm, said in
an interview this week that he would favor the town spending
extra money if it meant preserving the field’s scenic
attraction.
“I realize going underground is a costly thing, but
I don’t know any other alternative other than lowering
the poles,” Nichols said.
The land trust’s next step is a capital campaign, seeking
local donations and some smaller grants to make up the remaining
easement cost. The closing date is July 15 and the land trust
hopes to make that deadline.
VELCO hopes to apply for a state permit in June and begin
construction of a new power line and new substations in 2006.
Reprinted
with permission of the Stowe Reporter
|
