City leaders in Denton are searching for a "plan B" that would prevent the tearing down 13 homes to accommodate growth.
Denton Municipal Electric is in the midst of a more than $300 million campaign to improve electrical capacity across the city; which includes the building of new substations.
However one of those substations is causing serious growing pains for the Hillside neighborhood.
The city told neighbors there that the block surrounded by Peak, Collins, Bernard and Fannin Streets was the original planned area for the project and would require the 13 homes there to be removed.
City Council member Kathleen Wazny said it’s a tough situation because the substation has to go within the area it will service; in this case the Hillside neighborhood. That particular area does have some open space, but to accommodate the large project, someone will almost certainly be affected.
Wazny said the city definitely needs the substation to keep up with growth and demand, but she said they are questioning that location after citizen input.
The council, for now, has asked DME to examine other possible options in the neighborhood to place the substation, Wazny said, hoping there is a better way. She also wants to keep meeting with citizens in the neighborhood and the entire
city, as she said, preserving neighborhoods like Hillside is an overarching concern in Denton.
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Neighbors in Hillside have placed signs in their yards protesting the initial plan, and several said they hope the city will find a better option to still fill the power needs, but without the cost of so many homes.
Several brought up the option of the near-by University of North Texas giving up a parking lot or some other space to place the substation.
Wazny said at this point there’s no timeline for a decision on the project.
