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Dorchester County board defers decision on substation buffering after utility warns against trees
Summary
The Dorchester County Board of Zoning Appeals on April 22 deferred a decision on a variance request for buffering around a new electrical substation in the Winding Woods industrial area after the utility argued trees near overhead lines present safety and reliability risks. The board asked the applicant for alternative fence/treatment examples and will revisit the item next month.
The Dorchester County Board of Zoning Appeals on April 22 deferred action on a request to waive required plantings around a new electrical substation off Winding Woods Road, saying it would allow the utility to return with clearer treatment options and visual examples.
Staff told the board the variance application (V26-4) failed to meet the four standards required for a zoning variance under county ordinance sections cited by staff (10.4.18B and the Chapter 13 use-buffer standards). The staff report concluded the application "does not meet the requirements for a variance" and recommended denial unless the board could adopt specific findings of fact to support an exception.
The applicant’s representatives said the site is constrained and that planting mature trees next to overhead lines and near the substation fence would create safety and operational problems. "It's just bad utility practice to have trees under power lines," the utility’s engineering manager said, arguing that trees could overhang fences and increase outage risk and equipment damage: "one squirrel in the substation can do a lot of damage." The applicant described long lead times for transformers and uncertainty about future underground and overhead feed routing, which they said makes permanent large plantings impractical because crews may need to dig and trench in those areas as the industrial park develops.
Board members and staff discussed several alternatives that could meet the county’s visual buffering goal without planting canopy trees: opaque fencing or vinyl slats on chain link, capped wooden fences, mesh fabric wraps, and low hedges (for example, loropetalums) in front of a treated fence. Staff emphasized that any approval should include clear, numbered findings that demonstrate how the variance standards are met so the county is not setting an ambiguous precedent for other utilities.
A board member moved to defer the application so the utility could provide additional documentation and concrete examples (product photos, comparable installations, and a clearer written finding proposal). The motion to defer passed by the board’s usual voice/hand vote. Public comment was closed on the application.
The board asked the applicant to return with alternative treatments and supporting materials at the next meeting; staff said it could then assess whether the submission satisfies the variance standards and draft the factual findings the board would need to adopt for an exception to the ordinance.
