Residents: New Power Lines Will Be Too Close To Homes
DENTON (CBSDFW.COM) - Some Denton neighbors are upset with city hall over plans that would put new power lines close to their homes.
The current power line runs near the East Oaks subdivision. "What we want to do is do this upgrade of the line in such a way that it impacts as few people as possible," explained Denton City Council member Dalton Gregory.
Denton Municipal Electric is set to upgrade some power lines to keep up with population growth and it requires doubling the size of the right-of-way.
Gregory says making room for the lines means they may have to buy up some homes. "There's a route right now that we're looking at where it would indeed require some purchases of homes because there would be no way for the home and the power line to fit," he said. "That could happen according to the final determination about the route of the line."
With the right-of-way being widened to 75 feet, neighbors are telling city officials to route the line through an open field instead.
"There are some open fields but the issue is that when you reroute it run through an open field it may indeed affect another neighborhood," Gregory said of the suggestion.
East Oaks residents complain that project information and city meetings have been little to no help. "They're frustrated and they're concerned, as they well should be," said Gregory. "Some of the frustration comes because they wish they had known about this sooner."
The $13.6 million project would increase power capacity and replace wood poles with steel ones.
