Denton is working with residents who want the city to chose a different route for a new transmission line.
The line is necessary because the transmission lines in northeast Denton were not built to accommodate the city's growing population.
"The line was built in the 1960s, when all the area was pasture land," said Denton Municipal Electric spokeswoman Lisa Lemons. "It hadn't been developed yet, so they're wooden poles."
But if Denton Municipal Electric follows the existing route, it means tearing up neighborhoods.
Lemons said the wooden poles need to be replaced with steel ones, which are taller and wider, to ensure reliability. If the existing route is used, the electric company must expand the easements from 30 feet to 75 feet.
"You are talking about, in some cases, if we were going through that existing line, having to take out homes and purchase those," Lemons said.
Nothing is set in stone, but residents in the neighborhood said they are concerned about their property.
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"I think about the price and value of the house when people try to move in," Lindsay Hewitt said. "Find another place where there is not so many houses around to build the new line."
The city heard concerns at a public meeting on Monday and is working with residents to come up with the best plan.
Lemons said an underground line is not practical, but a path around the neighborhood toward Loop 288 might be an alternate choice.
"We are doing our homework," she said.
