Substation's 'extreme industrial' look dismays neighbors
By Edie Johnson
CHESTER — No matter how much you try to doll up an electrical susbstation, its unreservedly industrial nature cannot help but assert itself.
Orange & Rockland Utilities spent $12,000 on landscaping for the proposed substation expansion on Sugar Loaf Mountain Road in Chester. The utility planted 24 white pines and a variety of bushes to shield the expansion, while also putting more plants around the original substation erected three years ago at a cost of $10 million. It was built in the middle of one of the prettiest views in town.
At an extended public information session last week, Sugar Loaf Mountain Road residents objected to the site's "extreme industrial look."
The Norway spruce didn't fare well because of the poor soils, said O&R landscape consultant Karen Arent, so the new white pines and bushes received many truckloads of nourishing soil. She said O&R is committed to a new program of regular maintenance to make sure the trees and bushes thrive.
Ten O&R officials and engineers attended last week's session. Every speaker from the audience praised the utility's efforts and courtesy. They said O&R executives had met with each homeowner along the road. Their intention was to design a landscape that would spare neighbors the sight of huge transformers and mono-poles. Some property owners were satisfied, but many others expressed dismay about the substation's affect on their lives and property values. One resident said huge lines were slung across his driveway.
The state has already approved the expansion.
Public service laws tie town's hands
The expansion of public utilities no longer falls under municipal jurisdiction, said planning board attorney Dave Donovan and planning board Chair Don Serotta. In fact, they said, the new laws give utilities more leeway in cases where upgrades are considered necessary for public safety. Donovan said communities had lost several court fights challenging upgrades.
"State law does not allow us any other authority," Donovan said.
Residents also complained that, after enduring the disruptions caused by the substation's construction, they were no better off during power outages now than they were before.
Eric Denega, an O&R engineer and a former engineer for the Town of Chester, said the upgrade will restore the interface between Rockland County's power grid where it meets with Central Hudson Power Company, which services towns farther north. It will provide the area with additional backup while securing independence from the Central Hudson grid. In addition, Denega said, it will bring the town $1.4 to $1.7 million in tax revenue every year.
Homes lose value
But several homeowners said that, despite O&R's good intentions, there's no way to get rid of the project's industrial look, and that it should never have been located in a residential area. One resident unable to benefit from the landscaping because of the nature of his home site said his home has lost 25 percent to 30 percent of its worth, according to a local realtor, because of its new industrial setting.
"This is like planting a bunch of daisies in front of a Winnebago," he said. "When this whole thing started, we thought it was going to be back in the woods. You'll never hide this. I doubt I'll ever be able to sell my house."
He recommended that O&R buy out the four to five properties most affected. He said he's worried not only about the substation's appearance but about hazards like fires, explosions, and electromagnetic fields. Officials say there's no evidence that electromagnetic fields affect health, and that lines can be spaced so that the waves cancel each other out. But many residents question the reliability of the studies.
O&R has begun the final stages of preparing the site for expansion. A turnaround area will be provided for emergency and maintenance vehicles. One formerly gravel road has been paved.
About the road, one resident said: "Now it looks like the Thruway."