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Committee approves WPS natural gas regulator station at West Main and Spirit Avenue with safety-oriented conditions
Summary
The Site Plan Review Committee approved Wisconsin Public Service’s request for a major utility natural gas district regulator station at 1020 West Main Avenue, imposing conditions including masonry exterior, driveway access from Spirit Avenue with a permit, concrete aprons to the gate, and limits on above‑ground components; staff recommended avoiding slats or landscaping to preserve visibility for emergency responders.
The Site Plan Review Committee on March 3 approved a conditional-use/site-plan request from Wisconsin Public Service (WPS) for a major utility natural gas district regulator station at 1020 West Main Avenue (Parcel VA-L367-6), subject to several staff-recommended conditions.
Staff member Eric presented the site layout and explained that WPS had requested a leased area near the corner of West Main and Spirit Avenue. Eric said the project originally specified a metal building but was revised to an all‑masonry building to meet the three‑foot masonry wainscot requirement, and he read the recommended conditions for approval: limits on above-ground components to the mapped 96-by-140-foot area; driveway access from Spirit Avenue with a driveway permit from the public works department; exterior lighting and noise to comply with village ordinances; the building to be all masonry; gravel areas kept free of weeds; and a concrete driveway apron and drive lane to the fence gate to prevent gravel washing onto Spirit Way.
Eric also told the committee that staff did not recommend slats or vegetation to screen the fenced installation, saying that emergency responders prefer visibility into utility installations to monitor for leaks, fires or vandalism. "Over the years, we've worked with police and fire and other emergency responders," a WPS representative, Scott Shepherd, said after identifying himself, explaining that the company follows community-policing-through-environmental-design (CPTED) practices and that visibility helps responders assess incidents.
Shepherd also said WPS will lease the easement from the property owner (Holcher Brothers) rather than acquire the full property. Committee members asked about the station’s location on the lot and about gas odorant; Shepherd explained that the odorant (mercaptan) is added at upstream gate stations and that the distribution regulator station will receive gas that already contains the odorant. Committee members asked about venting from pressure relief valves; Shepherd said vents would dissipate to the atmosphere.
A motion by Dale Quinn, seconded by Dennis Persick, approved the project with the staff conditions Eric read into the record. The transcript records the chair announcing the motion carried.
