Belton approves zoning for new Encore electrical substation on North Main Street

Belton City Council on Oct. 22 approved a zoning amendment to allow an Encore electrical substation on roughly 0.7 acres on North Main Street near the H‑E‑B shopping center.

Planning staff described a conceptual plan for a substation they characterized during the presentation as a 50,000‑square‑foot electrical facility with an internal circulation road, two gated maintenance entrances, an 8‑foot split‑face masonry screening wall and a five‑foot landscaping buffer with trees and shrubs for perimeter screening. Staff and the applicant said the new substation would address winter loading concerns on the existing station and that the older substation would be decommissioned about two to three years after the new facility is operational.

Council discussion focused on landscape screening and irrigation. One member noted that plants required by code often fail when not irrigated; planning staff confirmed an irrigation requirement for the landscaping plantings and said shrubs were proposed around the screening wall. The applicant explained that overhead power lines constrained planting locations and that trees could not be placed where they would interfere with equipment operations.

Following the public hearing, council moved and seconded approval; the motion passed unanimously.

What happens next: staff will process permits and a decommissioning plan for the older substation; the applicant said removal of the old equipment is likely 1–3 years after the new substation is built.