Council approves Linn County REC pole‑yard expansion plan, conditions require final landscape and elevation plans

The Marion City Council approved a preliminary site development plan for Linn County Rural Electric Cooperative’s pole yard expansion west of Highway 13, conditioned on a final landscape plan that includes elevations and coordinated placement for the pole yard, future operations building and any substation.

Linn County REC representatives described a phased approach: phase 1 would construct the pole yard and driveway across a drainage way; a future operations building and an electrical substation would be contingent on future needs and external demand (REC representatives said an additional substation would likely be a multi‑year prospect and contingent on a third‑party load expansion). REC and its engineer proposed an eight‑foot ornamental steel fence with masonry columns and an arborvitae planting screen for visual buffering.

Councilmembers pressed REC on timing for landscaping and asked that final screening not be deferred for years. Council amended the staff motion to require submission of a final landscape plan with elevations and placement to be coordinated with city staff and subject to planning and zoning and council approval; the amended motion passed. Staff said screening must be installed within the time limits required by the approval document and that property owners are responsible for ongoing maintenance per the approval.

Quotable: Terry Sullivan of Linn County REC described screening plans and timing, and Trent Schnorr, the project engineer, explained the phased site layout. "We would put in the fence all the way around... with the arborvitae behind them," Sullivan said, noting tree heights and fence design would be adjusted to provide effective screening.

Next steps: REC to submit final landscape plan with elevations; planning staff to circulate plans to council and incorporate conditions into permits and approval documents.