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Board of Adjustment approves expansion of substation at Moynihan Road
Summary
The Linn County Board of Adjustment approved a minor modification to an existing conditional-use permit to expand a utility substation at 7875 Moynihan Road, adding about 33.14 acres for equipment storage and laydown yards with conditions including erosion, stormwater and access plans.
Linn County's Board of Adjustment voted to approve a minor modification to a conditional-use permit for an electrical substation at 7875 Moynihan Road, granting the expansion needed for upgraded equipment and a laydown yard.
Planning staff said the parcel is zoned agricultural and already holds a conditional-use permit granted in 2018 and constructed in 2019. "Staff recommends granting the proposal subject to conditions of the staff report," Stephanie Lentz, planning staff, told the board during the March 26 hearing.
Staff said the expansion would take about 33.14 additional acres out of agricultural production and add equipment north and east of the existing substation footprint. The site will include stormwater basins and a laydown yard that the applicant intends to use to store equipment prior to installation elsewhere. Staff said the nearest residence is roughly 735 feet southwest of the proposed expansion and that existing vegetative screening reduces visibility of the equipment from Moynihan Road.
The county will require the applicant to submit a soil erosion and sediment control plan, a stormwater management plan and a stormwater pollution prevention plan required by state agencies and conservation partners. Staff said the applicant will work with the county engineering department on access upgrades to meet secondary road standards; Moynihan Road is a gravel service road maintained by the county to a gate near the site. The applicant estimated traffic associated with the laydown yard at about two to 25 trips per month, and staff said normal substation operations would generate minimal traffic.
After the public hearing — during which no members of the public spoke — a motion to "accept the findings of fact, conclusions of law, and decision in order as recommended by staff" to approve PC 25-0003 passed on a roll call vote with Alden, Hoover and Martin voting yes. The board's procedural statement at the meeting noted that three concurring votes are required to decide in favor of an applicant.
The approval is subject to the conditions listed in the staff report, including the erosion and stormwater plans and any access upgrades required by the engineering department. No additional vegetation screening was required by staff because of the distance to the nearest residence and existing screening.
The county clerk will file the final decision with the planning and development department; the meeting record notes that any appeal to a court of record must be filed within 30 days after that filing.
