Planning commission approves preliminary site plan for DEMCO substation with conditions

The Livingston Planning Commission voted to approve the preliminary site plan for a DEMCO substation near 4‑H Club Road on March 20, approving the project with conditions that include a visual buffer with vegetation, solid fencing, submission of transformer noise data with the next plan and a feasibility review of an alternate nearby property offered by residents.

The commission’s action came after more than two hours of public comment and technical testimony from DEMCO staff and outside engineers about growing electrical load in the area and why the utility selected the site it did. Clifton Brown, a parish council member who lives in the area, and several neighbors urged the utility to consider a parcel they said is closer to an existing transmission line and would keep the substation farther from houses. “Main transmission line going right through my property,” landowner Kurt Freeman told the commission, saying DEMCO had not contacted him before buying the proposed site.

DEMCO representatives said engineering models and load studies show the chosen site best meets system needs. “So the problem is…