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Utility meters weren't placed with complete
disrespect for our architectural heritage
By Barry A. Muskat
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Gas meters recently installed outside 82 Park Street.
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The city of Buffalo is rich with historically significant buildings, many of which are grouped into Historic Preservation Districts (Allentown, Cobblestone, Delaware, Joseph Ellicott, Hamlin Park, Linwood, Olmsted Parks and Parkways, Theatre, and West Village.) Buffalo’s Common Council enacted Preservation Standards over thirty years ago to protect and safeguard the heritage of these districts by setting up guidelines for reviewing changes to historic structures.
Property owners who plan to alter exterior features must maintain their properties in a manner consistent with the city’s preservation standards. Landmark structures located within the districts must comply with the more exacting Secretary of the Interior’s Standards for Rehabilitation and Guidelines for Rehabilitating Historic Buildings. These guidelines include criteria that require alterations to have the least possible impact on the site or structures. Deteriorated features should be repaired where feasible, but in the event replacement is necessary, the replacement should match the original in materials, design, color, texture, and other visual qualities. It is clearly stated that any new work should be compatible with the existing structure and with the material and character of the historic district.
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The First Presbyterian Church
at Symphony Circle.
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Homeowners who live in these districts are required to play by the rules. The rules, in turn, help to protect and safeguard the city’s historical heritage. The rules also help to stabilize and improve property values, enhance neighborhoods, and contribute to the overall quality of city living.
But in installing their new medium-pressure pipelines and meters, it appears that National Fuel Gas is above the rules. The utility giant has invaded one Preservation District after another—armed with equipment and ultimatums—and concerned citizens have watched helplessly as the front yards of their properties are defaced with large, unsightly gas meters and pipes.
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The First Church meters
seen in context.
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The city of Buffalo brought a code violation enforcement against National Fuel in 2003 for installing meters in a Historic District without prior approval by the Preservation Board. City Court decided in their favor, finding that the utility had violated local ordinances. But the city’s victory was appealed in County Court and overturned shortly thereafter. The court agreed with National Fuel’s position that the only permissible regulation of their utility is by the Public Service Commission’s tariff proceedings.
Paul Carroll, a thirty-year resident of Allentown and member of both the Allentown and Preservation Boards, has spearheaded the effort to fight what he terms “the proliferation of unsightly gas meters in front of homes in historic preservation districts.” Carroll tried unsuccessfully to negotiate a compromise agreement with National Fuel Gas, and reports: “The utility company rejected a proposal to provide evergreen shrubbery to screen meters which it found necessary to install in front of houses in preservation districts, as well as other suggestions advanced to resolve the dispute.“ Most recently, the Allentown Association has filed petitions with city and state officials seeking enforcement of the preservation statutes. A frustrated Carroll declares, “We are facing a very powerful and wealthy corporate entity.”
Legislator Sam Hoyt has also been a leader in the fight against the meter locations. His latest efforts have been through the State Historic Preservation Office, requesting their legal opinion regarding the preservation laws vs. public utility laws. Depending on their determination, he pledges “to call for an immediate moratorium on any more meters in front of homes,” and plans to introduce legislation in the first 2007 session. Mincing few words while stating his views, Hoyt says, “This particular utility, National Fuel, has run roughshod over individual homeowners’ rights.” Hoyt would like to hear in writing from residents who’ve had experiences with subcontractors to National Fuel with regard to installations of the new meters (samhoyt@samhoyt.com).
Julie Coppola Cox, spokesperson for National Fuel, explains that as the utility improves and upgrades its aging pipeline system and new, high-density, plastic pipe is installed, the gas pressure at which service is provided must be upgraded to a “medium” level. By moving gas through their system at a higher pressure, there is better reliability. When the upgrade is implemented, gas meters that were previously located inside a customer’s home or business are moved outside. An associated safety device (called a regulator) is also installed. For safety reasons, New York Public Service Law mandates that the meter/regulator be installed outside of the home.
Ms. Cox states that the company’s policy is to place the meters at the location where the gas line enters the home (usually the front). If a customer requests its placement in a different location, they will evaluate the feasibility of alternate placement and do their best to accommodate (if the customer is willing to pay an extra fee associated with the additional work and materials), She further states that they seek to mitigate any disturbance to a customer’s property. If their work impacts landscaping, walk, or driveways, they commit to a full restoration including re-seeding lawns, replacing areas of walks and driveways that have been disturbed, and restoration of landscaping.
National Fuel states that they will work closely with customers who have particular concerns over the work, but that safety is their first priority. “As custodians of a precious resource and the providers of a necessary service, we take our responsibilities very seriously, as do the regulatory agencies that monitor our work everyday,” says Cox.
That may be very true, but it seems that National Fuel picks and chooses the agencies by which they are regulated. As a community, we are all custodians of our architectural heritage, another precious resource. How about being subject to the same basic preservation guidelines as everyone else?
Barry A. Muskat is Spree’s architecture critic. An adjunct professor at Canisius College and a businessman, he serves on the Buffalo Preservation Board (an all-volunteer board). Opinions expressed in this article are his own. Your comment is invited to the editor or to spree.architecture@adelphia.net.
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