Avista substation to be landscaped

An unattractive Otis Orchards landmark will be a little easier on the eyes after this summer as Avista finishes landscaping the area surrounding an electric substation on Arden Road.

Starting in May or June, the company will plant 16 species of plants around the electric equipment. There will be almost 400 shrubs, trees and other flora there when the project is complete.

“That’s a lot of plants,” said Avista spokeswoman Catherine Markson.

The landscaping idea came from public comments the company received when it planned new high-voltage transmission lines to help power development along Interstate 90 in 2003, she said.

Residents protested plans to run the lines through Otis Orchards, and the company built the lines farther east.

“I think that speaks highly toward the commitment we have toward taking the community involvement piece, responding and making changes based on that feedback,” Markson said.

Since then, construction of the new infrastructure has been completed without incident.

The substation on Arden Road has been there since the early 1990s.

“It’s none too pretty, but it’s necessary so I don’t think anybody has been too concerned about it,” Otis Orchards resident Lisle Swift said Monday. He was one of several Otis Orchards residents who commented on the power line proposal in 2003.

Still, trees and plants would look better than the stark metal structure that stands there now, he said.