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Commission rejects AEP conditional-use permit for Buddy Owens substation after neighborhood opposition
Summary
After sustained public comment and a petition opposing placement near homes, the McGowan City Commission voted to deny AEP Texas's request for a conditional-use permit to build an electrical substation at 4612 Buddy Owens Boulevard.
The McGowan City Commission voted to deny a conditional-use permit for an electrical substation proposed by AEP Texas at 4612 Buddy Owens Boulevard following extensive public comment from nearby residents.
Residents from the Meadow Ridge neighborhood presented a petition and spoke in opposition, citing health, noise and property-value concerns. Fifteen-year-old resident Eric Valentin told the commission, “All I’m asking is that it not be built next to our homes where it will affect our health, our finances, and our peace of mind,” and urged the commission to require a different location.
AEP representatives described the substation as necessary to meet rapid local demand growth and said they had sought sites that sit adjacent to transmission lines and had a willing seller. Daniel Lucio, external affairs manager for AEP Texas, told the commission the facility would reduce outages by enabling switching and said AEP would construct an eight-foot masonry fence, underground distribution lines where possible and a drainage pond between the property line and substation. Lucio said, “I understood where they were coming from and that I too wouldn't want one being built next to me if I didn't have the information that I'm sharing with you today.”
Residents disputed the need for the chosen location and expressed health worries. Jorge Hernandez, a neighborhood resident, said the district already has nearby substations and asked why the site could not be placed at other available lots. Several residents noted a petition and said the proposal would be closer to homes than many existing substations in the area.
The Planning and Zoning Commission had recommended approval at its hearing, and AEP presented details including the pad size and buffer distances, as well as broader growth statistics for their service territory. Despite AEP’s presentation and offers to meet with neighbors, a motion to disapprove the conditional-use permit carried. The meeting record notes the motion passed; the denial halts AEP’s plan at this location unless AEP returns with a new site or altered proposal.
Why it matters: The city’s decision affects how the electrical utility expands infrastructure to serve growth and reflects tensions between utility siting needs and neighborhood proximity, health perceptions and property-value concerns.
