Havre de Grace's Historic Preservation Commission is upset that BGE installed exposed gas lines and outdoor gas meters in the historic district after the commission requested no gas meters immediately outside homes there.
Bernie Hilditch, of BGE Gas Design, wrote to Commission Chairman Ron Browning in December 2009 advising the company was planning to replace a gas main around April 2010 and asked for guidance on the requirements of placing outside gas meters in a historic district.
Browning wrote back saying the commission prefers no installation of gas meters in front of homes and buildings "whenever possible," and prefers the meters be installed 5 feet down either side of a structure when possible.
But last month, Browning sent another letter indicating BGE ignored the commission's request and inappropriately installed outdoor meters and gas lines in the historic district.
He gave the example of exposed gas lines with "bright yellow concrete protectors" running along a driveway in the 500 block of Bourbon Street, and similar gas lines proposed to run the length of the carriage house at Spencer-Silver Mansion Bed and Breakfast, at Bourbon Street and South Union Avenue.
"This line would be an unsightly eyesore, a nuisance, and an unsafe hazard," Browning wrote. "Apparently, BGE has used our letter as carte blanche to impose their will and to intimidate residents/businesses to [conform] to BGE's uniformity codes which yielded no room for exceptions…Uniformity may not be possible in an historic district as unique as Havre de Grace."
Browning added that "unsightly and huge" gas meters/regulators have been placed along rental properties along Union Avenue.
"This commission regrets that BGE does not seem to treat the historically sensitive, and uniquely different, nationally/state/and locally recognized Havre de Grace Historic District any different than general, newly developed tract housing," he wrote.
Linda Foy, spokeswoman for BGE, wrote in an e-mail last week that the company has no intention of changing its rules for Havre de Grace.
"We have been working with the Historic Preservation Commission to keep them informed of our work and have committed to working with the HPC whenever possible. However, providing safe and reliable gas service is our number one priority," she wrote. "For safety reasons, it is BGE's standard – and the industry standard - to install the gas meters on the outside and in the front of buildings."
Foy said BGE is investing significantly in Havre de Grace's gas system.
"Much of the existing system is reaching the end of its useful life and must now be replaced in order to continue to provide safe and reliable gas and electric service," she wrote. "When we do these replacements, we must comply with our current standards, which not surprisingly are more safety conscious."
Browning, who is also the Havre de Grace neighborhood columnist for The Record and the owner of an historic property, said Tuesday he would be meeting with BGE's Joe Opert Friday at Browning's house, where he hopes to further discuss the issue.
He said he thinks BGE can read meters from the backs of houses just as well.
He also said he found out Mayor Wayne Dougherty had to fight BGE because they were going to dig up the mayor's new driveway.
"He fought them and won," Browning said. "I want private citizens to be aware that if they do need another voice, they can come to the commission."