BC Hydro works to soften its footprint in a small B.C. town
Consultation key as new field office built in Pemberton
In the small town of Pemberton, our transmission lines and a much needed new BC Hydro field office on the edge of downtown help to deliver essential services but can present a significant challenge to a growing community. But a healthy relationship has gone a long way to helping reduce that visual footprint.
"There's no question that BC Hydro has a big presence in our town," says Pemberton mayor Mike Richman. "The Hydro lines go right through town, through one of our key recreation areas, and that has been a challenge. And the field office is close to downtown. But BC Hydro's been very communicative in trying to respond to those challenges as much as possible."
Through an ongoing series of meetings and consultations, we've stepped up with a number of initiatives aimed at helping Pemberton in its ongoing fight to balance community growth with its agricultural history and small-town ideals:
- The field office was built only after an open house allowed locals to experience a virtual reality tour of the design
- Plans for a park-and-ride lot, with an adjacent community garden/agricultural park, are in the works for a section of land under transmission lines
- Decorative wraps on our padmount transformers were applied in May, featuring the work of local First Nations artist Levi Nelson.
"We're part of a community, and we look for creative ways to work together," says Jerry Muir, who works directly with Pemberton as a BC Hydro community relations manager. "It's about being open and available. We both have to deliver on separate mandates, but we look for opportunities to collaborate wherever possible."
Energy-efficient field office offers community benefits and a more subtle design
Our original field office at Pemberton was built in the early 1960s and needed to be replaced to provide improved safety for workers and to meet post-disaster guidelines. Working in coordination with BC Hydro crews in Whistler, Squamish and Lillooet, the field office services about 38,000 customers.
We need to provide emergency response to communities after natural disasters, and the new building must withstand a 1-in-500-year flood.
The new field office is built to LEED specifications for energy efficiency, and was specifically designed to reduce the load on Pemberton's infrastructure by collecting and managing storm water surge onsite.
Pemberton's concerns were chiefly around the building's location, size, and appearance. Our project team looked at more than 50 site options, gathered feedback on the building's design, and managed to appease most – but not all – critics of the project along the way.
Village of Pemberton mayor Richman said the community pushed for an office at a different location but discovered that the area's geography, with rivers running through the valley and a challenging flood plain, severely limited the ability to meet the criteria of an office that could operate during a natural disaster.
"Is it the ideal spot? No," says mayor Richman. "But we felt it was enough of a benefit to have it on the edge of the downtown. And BC Hydro worked hard with us on the design, to try not to make it look too industrial, from the colour choices, to shading, to lighting, to tree screening. They made a fairly big effort, and we pushed them on their budget to ensure it wouldn't look like a large industrial building."
Plans for a park under transmission lines
You can't miss the transmission lines in Pemberton, in part because of their location. Mayor Richman points out that the use of the land under the powerlines is limited by height restrictions and other safety considerations. As a result, you need to be creative in identifying compatible uses.
Plans for a park-and-ride lot and agricultural garden under the power lines near a school are now awaiting funding, with a contribution from BC Hydro covering a portion of the expense.
"There are plans for community gardens and beehives at that site, and a community plan has been put together between staff, Stewardship Pemberton and agronomists, to use that park for food protection and food production for the community," says Richman.
Meanwhile, a number of BC Hydro electrical boxes in Pemberton just got beautified in a big way. With funding from our community wrap program, the Village of Pemberton is using artwork by Lil'wat Nation artist Levi Nelson to cover three transformers around town. The public artwork is the latest initiative in the Village of Pemberton's 2017 commitment to establish stronger ties with Lil'wat Nation by expanding their knowledge of the traditions and culture of their important neighbours.
"The wraps are beautiful," says Richman. "Levi Nelson does beautiful, vibrant art, so they look great."
Planning to visit Pemberton this summer? Stay safe, and tread lightly
Pemberton normally welcomes visitors to the valley and its wealth of recreational opportunities, which range from world-class mountain biking to camping, fishing, farm tours, horseback riding and hiking. But while businesses are reopening – yes, you can still get that Hillbilly Deluxe burger (as takeout) from Mile One Eating House – the village is taking the COVID-19 reopening slowly.
As of late May, Pemberton was taking baby steps to reopening, including a drive-in movie night with a limited number of cars allowed. Pemberton's popular Slow Food Cycle – a two-wheeled tour of local sustainable farming – has been cancelled for 2020, but the village is looking at going ahead with other events and activities as provincial guidelines around the pandemic are eased.
"We don't expect to see our usual visitors from the likes of Washington State and other international travel, but we feel we see a lot of people from the Lower Mainland will be coming up to mountain bike, to canoe or to camp in the corridor," says Richman. "If people can follow distancing measures safely, we certainly welcome them. But I think tourism will have a bit of a different look this summer, and maybe it's an opportunity to see how we can make tourism even more sustainable with a lighter footprint going forward."
For those driving plug-in electric vehicles, the trip up from the Lower Mainland to Pemberton now includes options to use BC Hydro fast charging stations in Squamish and Whistler, and another station between Pemberton and Mount Currie scheduled to open this summer.
Open house cancelled, BC Hydro donates to Pemberton charities
Our plans to host an open house at the new field office in Pemberton were cancelled due to the COVID-19 outbreak. To show our appreciation to the community, we've instead donated $1,500 to the Pemberton Food Bank and $500 to the Pemberton Lions Club, who have played a leading role in delivering groceries to homebound residents during the pandemic.
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