Coral Gables to study impact of proposed power lines

A story in the Miami Herald says Coral Gables city leaders are following the lead of nearby communities in looking more closely at FPL's proposed route along US-1 of 230-KV high voltage electric transmission lines, hoping to assess the impact on residents and schoolchildren of the projected power lines.

According to the article by staff writer Elaine de Valle, which appeared in the zoned Neighbors section for Coral Gables and South Miami:

Acting on the concerns of residents in the city and nearby communities, leaders in Coral Gables want to find out the impact of controversial proposed new power lines that could traverse part of the city as part of Florida Power & Light's expansion project.

City Manager Pat Salerno got approval from the City Commission to hire a consultant to analyze the impact the new lines proposed along U.S. 1 will have on nearby residents.

Salerno told the newspaper that Coral Gables does not expect to receive details from FPL until June, when the utility expects to file its application for construction in the Gables.

"It's really for us to be prepared so that, once we've received the package of information from FPL, that we don't just have to take FPL's word for it that there will be no negative impact on the residents,'' the manager said. ``We want to have an independent way to validate what they are telling us.''

Read the full Herald story online, here.