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Kuna P&Z decision sets barrier in path of power line project

BY JOE ESTRELLA - jestrella@idahostatesman.com

Published: 05/28/09


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The Kuna Planning and Zoning Commission voted unanimously Wednesday to approve a new staff-recommended comprehensive growth plan that does not include allowing Idaho Power to build transmission lines within the city limits.

"What they're doing is sending a message that the project does not conform with the city's comprehensive plan and that it would be very difficult to get a special-use permit," said Gary Allen, a land-use attorney with the Boise firm of Givens Pursley.

The commission's recommendation will go before the Kuna City Council on July 7.

The city and Idaho Power have been at odds since the utility announced that its Gateway West Transmission Line project would route 190-foot towers carrying 500,000-volt wires through the southernmost part of Kuna.

Idaho Power said it was being forced to take that route because the Bureau of Land Management would not allow the project on public land.

Idaho Power still has a trump card. It could exercise its authority under eminent domain to seize the land it needs. Company officials have repeatedly insisted they have refused to exercise that right in 20 years.

John Freemuth, professor of public policy and director of the Energy Policy Institute at Boise State University, said the standoff between Kuna, Idaho Power and the BLM illustrates that the nation needs a process to determine how it is going to get its energy.

"Whether it's nuclear, wind or coal, we're going to have to transmit this energy," Freemuth said. "What we need is an inclusive procedure for these decisions, rather than having everybody trying to veto each other's proposals."

Joe Estrella: 377-6465

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