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Whitman County board approves conditional use permit for Inland Power & Light substation expansion
Summary
The Whitman County Board of Adjustment approved conditional use permit CU26-001 for Inland Power & Light to expand the Jurita Substation with a 7,500-sq-ft gravel pad and related access, subject to permits and conditions including elevating construction above the floodplain and full-cutoff lighting.
The Whitman County Board of Adjustment on March 12 approved conditional use permit CU26-001 to allow Inland Power & Light to expand the Jurita Substation at 5601 Haye La Crosse Road in La Crosse.
Presiding board member Larry Cochran opened the hearing and read the application and supporting exhibits, describing the proposal to construct a 7,500-square-foot gravel pad north of the existing substation, surround it with fencing and use it to park a mobile substation during maintenance or emergency outages. Cochran said two new haul approaches were approved by Road District No. 3 to allow movement of the mobile station to the site.
Board members reviewed technical findings, including a boundary line adjustment to correct the legal description, a wetland report that found no jurisdictional wetlands on site, and a floodplain study that requires construction be elevated three feet above the floodplain. The Planning Division issued a SEPA determination of nonsignificance; the Department of Ecology submitted a comment and adjacent landowners within 300 feet were notified, with no public comments received.
After the review, a motion to approve the findings of fact was made and seconded; the motion passed and the board proceeded to approve the conditional use permit. Cochran read the approval and the board adopted conditions: the applicant must obtain all necessary permits from Whitman County and any other permitting agencies (the CUP does not substitute for those approvals), notify the Whitman County Planning Department if ownership changes, and ensure all outdoor lighting is full-cutoff so light does not escape the site. Cochran declared, “Motion carried.”
The permit is subject to the stated conditions and to the applicant’s obtaining required agency approvals. No public opposition or written objections were recorded during the notification period. The board adjourned after completing the item.
