Fulton County's quiet approval of power lines draws backlash from residents

High-voltage power lines to be built near family homes

Residents in the Howell Station neighborhood are frustrated about plans to build high-voltage power lines right by their homes. They say what's even worse is that they had no idea it was approved.

FULTON COUNTY, Ga. - Residents say they're concerned about their health, their safety, and the value of their homes after learning about Georgia Power's plan to build high-voltage power lines between their neighborhood and the Fulton County Jail.

What we know:

Fulton County Commissioners approved the plan to sell over 2.5 acres of land to Georgia Power as part of their consent agenda on March 19 without discussion, but residents say they knew nothing about it and only learned of the plan when confronting crews beginning to cut down trees in April.

According to county documents, the county will receive over $3 million for the use of the land, with that money going to repairs at the Fulton County Jail.

The documents also say there were no community concerns. But, residents say they are concerned about their health, safety, and the value of their homes.

What they're saying:

"Without this tree buffer, it's not going to be a place people are gonna want to be raising families anymore. Which is really sad because this is a family neighborhood," Jen Upton said.

"Now, we're going to have not only high-voltage power lines like 70 or so feet from where my kids sleep, but also full exposure to the jail," Upton added.

Fulton County Commissioners approved a plan for Georgia Power to build high-voltage power lines between a Howell Station and the Fulton County Jail.

"Not only does it allow visual and noise intrusion, it also provides more of an opportunity for people who have been let out to maybe find another place to go," Nathaniel Hunter said.

"They never reached out to us to communicate, and the communication is only now happening after everything has been ushered through quietly," Arthur Toal explained.

The other side:

We reached out to the county, who acknowledged the project was approved, but referred us to Georgia Power.

Georgia Power sent us this statement about the project:

"We understand and appreciate neighbors’ concerns and questions, and we’re working hard to minimize disruption as we make necessary investments in the power grid.

"We are working with the Howell Station neighborhood association and have scheduled a community meeting in May where we will address residents’ questions directly; until that time all tree-clearing activities have been paused."

What's next:

The neighborhood board will meet with Georgia Power this week.

There is also a town hall later this month.