Neighbors, power company discuss substation

Imagine a tutu worn by a hippopotamus. It may dress her up a bit, but doesn't hide much.

That's about how a brick wall to be built around a massive power plant looked to a group of about 40 homeowners Monday as power officials tried to explain why they needed to build just 30 feet behind their back fences.

To John Munoz and several of his neighbors, Sierra Pacific Power Co.'s plan to build the plant with 28-foot power poles, wires, coils and humming fans behind their homes will damage mountain views, property values and their quiet way of life.

"It's not good," Munoz said. "I don't like it. It's just going to kill my view."

Even the power company's front man admitted to the group of Fairview Drive residents he wouldn't want it behind his house.

"Would you want this in your backyard?" resident Frank Longaberger asked company developer William Bennett.

"No, I wouldn't, if I had the view you have," Bennett said.

Several property owners and homeowners met with Sierra Pacific representatives and city officials Monday to talk about the power substation to be built on land purchased from Snap-On Tools on Fairview Drive in southern Carson City. The land is in escrow, and the sale may be final within six weeks, Bennett said.

City zoning, created in 1976, allows the power plant to be built without special permission. A proposed 8-foot wall is the only part of the plan that needs a special permit. It's not required, but power officials say it will help drown out the humming noise, especially during heavy summer usage.

For the past 20 years, homeowners along Pullman Road have enjoyed unobstructed views of the Sierra Nevada from their backyards. Munoz said his children, now in their 20s, played in the open fields, and the family was often visited by cows grazing from the Lompa Ranch.

He also worries the red-tailed hawks that nest every year in his cottonwood tree will die or be displaced by the plant.

Sierra Pacific looked at six sites near Fairview Drive, but the one near Pullman Drive made the most financial sense. The site is next to a transmission line that runs along Fairview Drive and near 7,900 acres of what could be future residential or industrial development.

The company's ability to provide power to Carson City is already being stretched to the limit during peak summer hours, Bennett said. Building the substation will allow the company to take the pressure off other city substations.

"Carson City is living in a constrained system," Bennett said. "If we lost a major transformer, we're at 99 percent capacity. We need more running room."

The area is also growing at 4 1/2 percent and expected to be developed further when the Carson freeway is completed and an offramp feeds the immediate district.

"This is one area where the load is growing rapidly," Bennett said. "We're trying to get a substation to feed the load in this area."

Power officials said they will take a look at suggestions offered by residents Monday, but it is unlikely the plans will change, said district manager Wes Wiens. Several residents asked if the massive power poles could be sunk underground or lowered to keep the view.

"I think we need to go back and look at the possibility to lower it or excavate," Wiens said. "We'll go back and review the locations again."

Contact Jill Lufrano at jlufrano@nevadaappeal.com or 881-1217.