The Mercury News
February 11, 2003
 
Unsightly towers
Plan for new structures near I-280 spurs debate

By Marilee Enge

A string of electricity transmission towers running through San Mateo County has for decades been part of the landscape along scenic Interstate 280, a route known as "The World's Most Beautiful Freeway.''

Now, as Pacific Gas & Electric proposes to replace the structures with taller ones carrying more powerful lines, environmentalists want PG&E to seize the opportunity and take down the unsightly towers altogether, opening views of the undeveloped watershed lands lying west of the highway.

The Committee for Green Foothills is urging PG&E to move the power lines underground wherever possible as it prepares to rebuild a 27-mile transmission system running from Brisbane in the north to near Woodside in the south. The matter is before the California Public Utilities Commission.

"How often do you get to remove something?'' asked Lennie Roberts, legislative director for the 40-year-old organization that works to protect the Peninsula's open spaces from development. "There's a lot of things I'd like to restore,'' she said. "I'd like to restore the Santa Clara Valley to orchards. It's not going to happen. I'd like to restore Hetch Hetchy. It's probably not going to happen. Here, it's doable. It's really an exciting prospect.''

Her group is particularly concerned with the towers that border Edgewood County Park, a suburban refuge for rare serpentine grasslands, unusual wildflowers and the threatened bay checkerspot butterfly. Building taller transmission towers with a wider footprint near the park could disrupt wildlife, Roberts said, but going underground near such sensitive habitat is out of the question, too. She wants PG&E to explore routes away from the park.

"We want to look at it really carefully,'' Roberts said, "to see where would they get the most benefit from undergrounding it.''

PG&E says the upgrade is needed to ensure a reliable power supply and accommodate growth in San Francisco and northern San Mateo County. The California Independent System Operator recommended the expansion.

"California's population continues to grow, and with that grows the demand for electricity,'' said PG&E spokesman Paul Moreno. "To adequately plan for reliability, transmission upgrades need to occur. We want to keep the lights on.''

The northern section, from a transition station in San Bruno to the Martin substation near the Cow Palace in Brisbane, would be built underground, according to PG&E's proposal. But the southern route, a 14.7-mile stretch between San Bruno and the Jefferson substation in western unincorporated Redwood City, would remain above-ground; lattice steel towers that stand 80 to 90 feet high would be replaced by 90- to 115-foot towers.

The company will listen to neighbors and environmentalists. Nothing is final yet, Moreno said. But, he added, burying the entire southern section would cost far more than the projected $180 million price for the project. Underground lines are more vulnerable to earthquakes, Moreno added.

Meanwhile, a group of homeowners known as the 280 Corridor Concerned Citizens Group also opposes the larger towers because they would affect views and property values. Edward O'Neill, an attorney for the residents, said PG&E has not proved that expanded capacity is necessary.

"The need for the project needs to be analyzed more thoroughly,'' he said. "Alternatives other than this line need to be looked at.'' Among those alternatives, he said, PG&E should reconsider its plans to retire an outdated and polluting power plant in San Francisco's Hunter's Point neighborhood.

The residents also want the company to consider moving the transmission line west of 280, onto watershed lands, an idea that makes conservationists shudder.

An environmental review prepared by the Public Utilities Commission staff will consider several alternatives and make recommendations to an administrative judge later this year. PG&E hopes to begin construction in April 2004, and construction is expected to take about a year and four months.

IF YOU'RE INTERESTED
Call PG&E at (800) 234-2117. Visit the California Public Utilities Commission Web site at www.cpuc.ca.gov, or call the CPUC public adviser at (415) 703-2074.

Contact Marilee Enge at menge@sjmercury.com or (415) 394-6895.