In the shadow of a roughly 100-foot-tall high-voltage transmission line, two queen palm trees stand in one subdivision where a vocal minority of homeowners pushed back against plans for a new electric substation — and won.  

About one-third of the neighbors of the Meadow Ridge subdivision, which has a homeowners’ association or HOA, signed a petition against a zoning variance for the project and lobbied McAllen city commissioners to reject the proposal from AEP Texas in August, despite being approved by the city’s Planning and Zoning Board and city administrators over the summer. 

McAllen Mayor Javier Villalobos and his fellow officials dismissed the project after a group of spirited neighbors spoke against it during a public hearing, where commissioners chimed in with alternative properties further away from subdivisions. 

But that might require American Electric Power Texas to expand its transmission lines, which means paying property owners for more right-of-way easements, then building the lines before adding a substation – a process that could take years. 

“We also know that we need electricity, and we need it [to be] reliable. In some areas, it’s not as reliable as we would like, and I know that some of this will help out,” Villalobos said. “But me as a resident…if I’m in my backyard, I don’t want to see all that type of [industrial development] stuff.”

High voltage is too close for comfort 

The project was halted after 32.5% of property owners within 200 feet of the land opposed it, McAllen records show. AEP proposed an 8-foot-tall masonry wall and for the substation to be set back 150 feet from the residential zone. There is no appeal process for such a zoning decision by the board, according to the city of McAllen. 

But when those neighbors and city officials decided for their own community, citing health, safety, and property value loss concerns, they also made a decision that will affect many other nearby communities. That’s because AEP’s planned improvements for the electric grid could be at least two years behind schedule now, as it attempts to keep pace with existing electricity demand. It has already committed to building three electric substations in McAllen, but is working out land deals. Officials say the substation – or lack thereof – doesn’t mean the neighborhood will suffer immediately, nor the surrounding commercial corridors or industrial sites. 

The proposed substation near Meadow Ridge was supposed to alleviate electric outages in three different commission districts, 1, 2, and 5, which include much of North McAllen. 

In July 2023, AEP Texas purchased a nearly 5-acre property behind Zamora’s Tire Shop near the intersection of Buddy Owens Boulevard and North Bentsen Road in McAllen, Hidalgo County records show. 

Industrial infrastructure projects are often difficult to build. For companies like AEP Texas, the business is looking for land that is only a few acres and affordable because that investment will have to be indirectly repaid for by its ratepayers as a transmission and distribution charge on their electric bills.

AEP Texas officials say the substations must be close to neighborhoods where electricity demand has increased, so it’s not possible to build them all on the outskirts of cities in unincorporated county land. 

“Some of these property owners want to sell us the entire property, [but] all we want is a little parcel, and we have to answer to our ratepayers. So how do you justify purchasing all this acreage when all you need is four to five [acres],” said Daniel Lucio, spokesperson for AEP Texas, during the commission meeting. 

Zoning limitations in Texas

The proposed substation property was zoned single-family residential on the south side, commercial on the east side, and agricultural land to the north.

“You would imagine single-family transitioning to multi-family transitioning to commercial zones, light retail transitioning to industrial so that the demands on the property have what you would think of as natural buffers and barriers,” said Isaac Tawil, McAllen city manager. 

But there’s less regulation in Texas for unincorporated communities for that planned transition. 

“I think in this case, that’s probably what happened. If there had been an opportunity for the area to be master planned by the city, I’m sure some of the challenges that exist there could have been avoided,” Tawil said. 

AEP Texas considered the property near the intersection of Buddy Owens Boulevard and Ware Road, but the owner was not interested in selling the land for an electric substation, according to the company.

The way that electrical substations are used by transmission companies like AEP Texas is twofold: the sites bring down the voltage so it’s safe to transfer on a residential system, but they’re also used when there’s extreme weather affecting one substation. The power for an entire community can be redirected to an unaffected substation, which reduces the likelihood of outages caused by shutting off power to protect the grid’s infrastructure. 

“That’s what we do in emergencies: we redirect that power. We take a look at the grid and see what’s working and what isn’t, and we redirect power to get people back in service as quickly and as safely as we can,” said Omar Lopez, director of communications for AEP Texas, in a recent interview.

Infrastructure grew with new home construction 

The Meadow Ridge subdivision nearly straddles the boundary line between the cities of McAllen and Palmview in Hidalgo County. The AEP Texas transmission line existed before the subdivision was built or even platted in 2006. 

In 2007, Pharr-based Stone Oak Development created the subdivision for single-family homes. At the time, the electric line was a smaller pole system that’s more common in residential neighborhoods – a 69 kV line that was upgraded to 138 kV in 2007. 

But fears about property values declining after the construction of a high-voltage electric substation dominated the conversation during the recent city commission meeting. Like when neighbor Lupita Valentin had her son Eric speak in opposition to the project during the commission meeting. 

Eric cited expected noise pollution, potential substation explosion, and property value decline while acknowledging that reliable electricity is important. 

“These are all great things for our local community, but they come at a cost to those who live close to them,” the 15-year-old said. 

He argued that if there were ever a fire at the electrical substation, it would be catastrophic for him and his family. 

“Due to its close proximity to our neighborhood, me my neighbors, friends, could lose more than just money; our lives could be ruined, and I doubt that AEP would reimburse every victim for the emotional or financial loss,” he said. 

Property values in McAllen are soaring

The Valentin family home, for example, is a three-bedroom, two-bath house built in 2009 by Stone Oak Development Ltd, a now-defunct company once run by Romeo Rendon in McAllen.  

In 2012, his mother, Lupita, and his father, who is also Eric, purchased that single-family home in the subdivision with a home mortgage from Wells Fargo for $127,000, deed records show. 

By 2020, that property was appraised to be worth $132,944 according to the Hidalgo County Appraisal District records. By 2026, it will be worth an estimated $221,555.

But it’s unclear whether an electric substation has a significant impact on home appraisal values in McAllen. There’s already a substation at the intersection of Buddy Owens Boulevard and North 23rd Street, purchased by AEP Texas in 2002, records show. 

A single-family home in Kingwood Estates, a subdivision within roughly 50 feet of the substation, was built in 2005 by Grande Valley Homes LLC. In July 2027, the home was purchased by Mauricio Gutierrez and his wife, Caren Farias, with a home mortgage from First Magnus Financial Corporation for $127,000, records show. The pair has owned it ever since, and the property appreciated in value from $161,582 in 2020 to $264,033 in 2026, records show. 

A second lot in Kingwood Estates, within several hundred feet of the substation, was purchased by Sylvia Alaniz in 2019 for $201,532 – of which $43,000 was for the lot purchase and the rest was used for new home construction in 2020. In 2021, that home was appraised to be worth $189,278 and appreciated to $265,289 by 2026, records show. 

By comparison, inside La Cantera Estates, a single-family home subdivision also built by Stone Oak Development in 2006 at the intersection of Buddy Owens and Ware Road, where there is no electric substation but is near the transmission line, the property values were similar, with one home appraised to be worth $160,345 in 2020, which appreciated to $253,519 in 2026. 

Back in Meadow Ridge, neighbor Ivette Obele lives next door to the high-voltage transmission line in a single-family home built in 2008. It was sold by Stone Oak Development to Landmark Valley Homes Inc. in 2007. In 2009, Obele took out a mortgage worth $134,419 from MetLife Home Loans, which sold its mortgage portfolio back in 2012. 

In 2020, Obele’s property was appraised to be worth $159,411, but that has increased to $237,617 in 2026, records show. That’s an increase of 49 percent in a six-year stint. 

Community left with ‘bad neighbor’ 

On a recent visit to the neighborhood, Meadow Ridge neighbor Agustin Arias told the Rio Grande Valley Business Journal that he was not opposed to living near an electric substation – and his home sits within 50 feet of the existing transmission line. Arias did the same thing for decades when he lived in Palmview with no issues. 

Arias’ single-family home with a garage was constructed in 2024. The property is appraised to be worth $324,542, records show. 

Instead, Arias was more concerned about the tire shop, vehicle junk yard, and fireworks stand on the corner where Zamora’s Tire Shop sits. He claims there has been environmental contamination on the property. 

Other neighbors complained during the commission meeting that there was a vehicle fire when a stray firework got stuck under a parked car, and the tire shop was a hazard. 

Neighbors like Valentin challenged AEP Texas to build out its transmission lines and to extend its network instead of building next to the subdivision.

Lucio, the AEP Texas spokesperson, responded that the substation would play a “crucial role” to meet demand and would “help reduce outages by allowing us to do more switching and transfer power where demand is needed. We are seeing growth like we’ve never seen before.” 

While AEP Texas searches for more land to purchase for its next McAllen substation, the electric reliability project is delayed, which may leave all neighborhoods – not just Meadow Ridge subdivision – more susceptible to power outages for now.