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TREASURE COAST REGIONAL PLANNING COUNCIL M E M O R A N D U M To: Council Members AGUR A j E. 5_B From: Staff Date: September 21, 1979 Council Meeting •- Subject: St. Lucie County Development Order on the FPL Midway -Lake Poinsett Transmission Line The Council has received a copy of St. Lucie County's Development Order that approves, with conditions, the FPL Midway -Lake Poinsoft Trar.smiesion Lire. Background In January 1979, Council recommended the approval, with conditions, of the FPL Midway -Lake Poinsett 500 KV Transmission Line.(See Exhibit 1 for the location of the transmission' line.) In March 1979, Indian River County adopted a Develop- ment Order for the northern half of the transmission line in the same location as approved by the Council. St. Lucie County has now brought before the Council the Development Order for the southern half of the transmission line. St. Lucie County Alignment In response to very strong criticism from St. Lucie County property owners affected by the transmission line, St. Lucie County appointed a citizens committee to work with FPL on a realignment that would reduce the impact on the affected property owners. The major concerns raised by the property owners appeared to be: 1. The impact of the transmission line on the operation of the citrus groves, particularly due to the diagonal alignient across the groves. 2. The aesthetic impact and reduction in development opportunity to the property the transmission line crosses. As a result of the meeting with the citizens committee, plus several public hearings before the St. Lucie County Commission, the transmission line was moved out of the citrus croves-Wherever possible and, when unavoidable, the line crossed at right angles rather than running diagonally through the groves. To reduce the aesthetic impact and loss of development opportunity in northwest St. Lucie County, the trans- mission line was moved eastward to parallel the Sunshine State Parkway and cross into Indian River County two miles east of the location recommended by Council. Impacts of the New Alignment Council staff review has identified the following impacts related to the new alignment: 1. The realignment in St. Lucie County does not meet the line in Indian River County. P. The realignment creates a negative visual impact to the approx- imately 12,000 vehicles that use that portion of the Sunshine State Parkway each day. The realignment would parallel the Parkway for approximately ten miles. 3. The realignment would require the crossing of approximately 3.9 miles of cypress swamp. 4. The added length of the realignment, plus the location of part of the line in a cypress swamp, will add a significant cost to the line, which would be borne by the FPL customers. FPL was unable, at this time, to c{liantify the added cost. BJOK 41 FAH 7 7 1 Mitigation of the Impacts of the New Alignment The applicant, FPL, and one of the major landholders, Ashland Oil Co., are viorkinq on a method to mitigate several of the negative impacts identified above. (See OCT 2 41979