BENTONVILLE -- County planners on Wednesday rejected plans for a Carroll Electric Cooperative substation near Centerton.
The Benton County Planning Board voted 6-0 against the plans, with one abstention, after a pair of public hearings at which developers of nearby properties objected, claiming the substation isn't compatible with residential development and would lower the value of their property. Concerns over noise and light pollution from the substation, as well as possible safety issues, were also raised.
The Planning Board cited the incompatibility of the proposed substation with surrounding residential development in voting against the plans.
Board member Ashley Tucker said the measures proposed by the electric company weren't sufficient to buffer the substation from the residential area.
"Our duty is to support it only if we consider the measures to be extraordinary," Tucker said. "Or are they ordinary?"
Board member Stephen Torrez said the landscaping proposed wasn't extraordinary.
"To me, extraordinary would be a 20-foot berm," Torrez said. "A 5-foot berm, in my opinion, is ordinary."
The plans were for a substation on 15 acres at 12601 Herbaugh Road, just west of Centerton. The station would be on five acres within the parcel and include two 55-foot tall towers, circuit interrupters and transformers. The Planning Board delayed action on the plan at its May 16 meeting.
The board asked Jeff Smalley, Carroll engineering manager, to add more landscaping and buffering tov plans for the site, along with information on noise levels and sight-line studies between the site and adjoining properties. Smalley said the new facility is needed to accommodate the growth of the area.
Property to the north of the site is agricultural. To the east is a residential subdivision, the West End subdivision, while property to the south and west is used for single-family residential and agricultural. Centerton Mayor Bill Edwards said the city anticipates more property in the area being annexed into the city and more residential development is expected.
Also Wednesday, the board approved plans for a wedding and events venue at 5801 Ervin McGarrah Road near Lowell. The board had delayed action on those plans at the May 16 meeting after chairman Bob Bracy asked the developers to provide more information on ingress and egress to the property and water service to the property. The board said there were some questions about the boundary of the property and made its approval contingent on resolving those questions.
NW News on 06/07/2018
