New substation planned near Forest Ave.

Orange and Rockland’s (O&R) proposed substation off of Forest Avenue prompted discussion about the growing demand for electric service, during the February 21 Monroe Town Planning Board meeting.

Representatives from O&R claimed that the proposed public utility substation would improve the reliability of service in the area. They informed the board that the area is served by the Harriman substation near Walmart and from the Monroe substation near Orange and Rockland Lake. Noting the significant growth in the area, specifically Kiryas Joel, the representatives said the additional substation would add much needed capacity to meet demand.

The substation would be in a fenced compound in an area where electric lines are already on site. The applicant said that the site will be screened from neighboring properties and will have no impact on traffic or noise in the area.

Planning Board Chairperson Bonnie Franson commented on the proposed location, sharing her concerns that it was near a large, planned development at Bald Hill. She asked the O&R representatives to review the proximity of those homes to the substation.

Target parking

Demand for reliable electrical service in Monroe was made evident by an application for a Tesla charging station at the Target parking lot on Bailey Farm Road. The applicant is proposing 16 charging stalls connected to four supercharger units, which they explained could be used by an electric vehicle with a North American charging standard plug.

The board discussed the location of the charging stalls, which would reduce the available parking spaces at Target by three and how often those spots were used. Franson questioned whether those spots are as underutilized as the applicant claimed. She asked the board to review them, and asked for more evidence from the applicant.

A representative for Target also came before the board with an application to expand and relocate the retailer’s drive-up parking spaces. The representative explained that the retailer was looking to create 12 drive-up spaces in a new location from where they previously existed in order to meet safety standards for their employees. This would result in a loss of five parking spaces, the representative said.

The board noted the combined loss of parking spaces from both the Tesla proposal and the Target proposal would reduce the number of spots from 79 to 71. They also discussed the potential for storage container removal, which could increase the number of spaces.

Franson commented that Monroe’s comprehensive plan cited an excess of parking and that additional buildings in the area could be supported as part of economic development.