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Alpine residents pack powerlink
community council meeting
By Susan Hogoboom
The Alpine Sun
ALPINE — It was a standing-room-only
crowd at the Woman’s Club on Monday, Feb. 15, where San Diego
Gas & Electric officials addressed local residents who are
demanding more answers on the proposed Sunrise Powerlink (SRPL)
undergrounding along Alpine Boulevard. The project, which is
expected to take approximately 2 years to complete, has been met
with strong opposition from the community.
Laura McDonald, SDG&E project manager, said that the
company is still on target for a June 2010 construction start
date, which would include approximately 6.1 miles of
230-kilovolt line, undergrounded along Alpine Boulevard. She
said that as long as SDG&E officials receive the necessary
permits, U.S. Forest Service approval, and Notices to Proceed
from the California Public Utilities Commission (CPUC) and from
the U.S. Bureau of Land Management (BLM), construction on the
link will promptly begin, despite any pending lawsuits without
stays being issued.
Last week, local group Protect Our Communities
Foundation, along with Backcountry Against Dumps and the East
County Community Action Coalition, filed a federal lawsuit
challenging the decision of the BLM to approve the SRPL.
Local residents asked questions regarding traffic,
safety and construction concerns, mitigation, and communication
with the local community. Many in Alpine believe that the
proposed project will have a cataclysmic effect on Alpine
Boulevard business owners and on the community itself.
Work area safety
According to Jose Lopez, the underground construction
and engineering project manager, workers would be confined to a
500-foot work area at a time, and within that area, there would
be no more than 75 to 125 feet of open trench. Trenches would be
covered with steel plates and equipment would be put away during
periods of work inactivity.
Lopez said that no blasting would occur. Instead, a
jackhammer on a backhoe would be used to drill little holes
through rock that might be found underneath Alpine Boulevard. He
also insured that there would be daily inspections to ensure
safety of the work area.
Traffic concerns
According to officials, a traffic control plan for the
construction has been submitted to the county and is in the
review process. A review comment from the county was expected
this week. SDG&E officials will also be presenting the proposed
plan to the Alpine Planning Group at its regular meeting this
Thursday, Feb. 25 at 6:30 p.m. at the Alpine Community Center.
Lopez said that such plans call for driveway
accessibility to be maintained throughout the entire project and
for at least one lane to always be open. He said that only one
half of any driveway would be trenched at a time.
“We’ve gotten good feedback from some of the public
service agencies,” said McDonald, adding that Lopez has been
meeting with public safety and school district officials
regarding safety response and transportation issues. “There was
one particular fire agency that mentioned to us that they’re no
longer concerned about the public safety.”
McDonald said she wants to devote the next Community
Council meeting to reviewing the traffic plan.
Neville Connell, president of the Greater Alpine Fire
Safe Council, however, is concerned about fire safety. After
analyzing maps on hand at the meeting, he concluded that the
line would impede firefighting efforts on the ground and from
the air.
Don Haines, SDG&E’S environmental mitigation program
manager, said that work in front of Alpine Elementary School
will be limited to when school is not in session, such as during
winter break, Thanksgiving and summertime.
Outages
Potential power outages during construction are a
concern for some residents.
“It is all transmission work that will take place
within the trench alignment,” Lopez assured attendees, noting
that the alignment will not involve the current distribution
circuit, meaning that SDG&E workers will not have to cut
people’s energy or take outages during construction.
Communication with the community
“There will be constant communication with the
community of Alpine to keep businesses and residents informed
about our constant effort,” Lopez said. In fact, McDonald issued
an open invitation to business owners along the boulevard to
meet with them personally. She said SDG&E officials have already
begun meeting with some in person and in group settings.
McDonald said that SDG&E officials are awaiting an
issuance of a Notice to Proceed from the CPUC to construct a
19,000 square-foot SRPL administrative office to house at least
100-130 employees in Alpine, to be located at 1010 Tavern Road.
She added that this was “much to the chagrin” of other
communities along the route who wanted to see offices
established in their communities for economic reasons.
Many members of the community would have liked to see
some of Alpine’s already existing and empty, office space used,
even in the form of several small existing spaces. However, SDG&E
desired a large office space to house employees under one roof.
No road closures are anticipated to result from the office’s
construction, but noise and dust levels may be elevated.
SDG&E officials are, however, seeking out existing
space for a community relations office. In fact, McDonald said
she had been looking at spaces earlier that day.
Mitigation
Haines said that the goal would be to avoid or minimize
impact to businesses and the community. Mitigation would be the
last resort.
McDonald informed attendees of what some deem to be an
informal type of mitigation.
“All along the route, we will be working with
individual communities that are impacted on community
enhancement,” she said.
She said SDG&E officials are more than willing to
engage in discussions with the revitalization committee, the
Chamber of Commerce, Supervisor Dianne Jacob, and the county,
itself. She wants such discussions to include ideas to
“incorporate many of the enhancements that the committee has
been looking at into the construction plan.”
“It would make perfectly logical sense, that while
we’re out doing the work on Alpine Boulevard, that we
incorporate those revitalization efforts into that,” she said.
For the sake of example, McDonald threw out a few
features, which included curbs, sidewalks, and medians. However,
the planting of trees would carry with it higher hurdles, as,
according to Lopez, “the county has an issue with planting
trees, I think as it relates to maintenance.”
McDonald thinks the sooner these discussions take
place, the better. “The sooner we can incorporate your
revitalization interests into our construction plan, the better
off we’ll be time-wise,” she said.
However, members of the community do not want to see
mitigation limited to topics on beautification of the boulevard.
Alpine resident and mother, Michelle Steinbuch, who
spoke at the town hall meeting on Jan. 14, also attended last
week, raising concerns of the danger of electromagnetic fields (EMF).
She again expressed outrage at the community’s possible exposure
to such fields and would like to see the topic included in
mitigation activities.
Rupert Pedrin, a contractor along Alpine Boulevard,
said he wants to see a local mitigation claims office
established. McDonald was receptive to the idea, but there is no
word as to whether such an office will be set up in Alpine.
Historical sites
Carol Morrison, president of the Alpine Historical
Society, expressed concern over preservation and protection of
historical sites along Alpine Boulevard. SDG&E officials have
apparently already analyzed historical sites along the
boulevard, as well as records pertaining to such sites and
archeological to artifacts.
Work hours
If the project does get the green light, many desire to
see construction done during the vesper hours in order to reduce
noise levels and traffic woes during peak business hours.
Although Lopez and McDonald say they are open to
working during non-peak hours, McDonald said, “Hours of work
will be determined by the county.” Regardless, workers would
keep noise down to a minimum. “We’re going to follow strict
noise ordinances,” said Lopez.
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