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Council tables PG&E request to remove five trees at North Alta Street entry
Summary
After staff recommended approval, the Gonzales City Council voted to table a PG&E request to remove five trees beneath transmission lines and replace them with shrubs, asking the utility to provide more information about undergrounding under CPUC Rule 20 and technical clearance.
The Gonzales City Council on April 8 voted to table a Pacific Gas & Electric Co. request to remove five trees at the North Alta Street entry and replace them with 10 shrubs until PG&E can provide technical experts and more information about undergrounding options.
City staff presented a report saying PG&E seeks a city coachmar permit to remove five trees that sit beneath electrical transmission lines and that the utility proposes replacing each removed tree with two frosty blue Ceanothus shrubs. The staff report said PG&E would hire Davy Tree Service to remove the trees and grind the stumps, and that the city’s landscape maintenance contractor, Smith and Enright, recommended the shrub variety. Staff estimated the planting cost at about $800.
The recommendation prompted questions from council members about whether the transmission lines could instead be buried under California Public Utilities Commission electric tariff Rule 20, a process known as “undergrounding.” Councilmember Maria Oros said she had reviewed CPUC Rule 20 online and asked why information about the rule had not been included in the council packet. “I’d much prefer to hear that they’re going to put the utility lines underground, and then we could have this discussion,” Oros said.
Jasmine Venegas, introduced herself as PG&E’s government relations representative for the Central Coast and told the council she was monitoring the meeting but not qualified to speak to project details. “I would defer to my colleagues who’ve been coordinating with the city up until this point,” Venegas said, and added that PG&E makes similar clearance requests across its service territory.
City staff said the transmission lines in question are high-voltage transmission, not standard distribution lines, and that undergrounding transmission lines is generally much more costly and technically complex than burying local distribution lines. Staff said they would follow up with PG&E and request subject-matter experts and more documentation on alternatives.
Councilmember Maria Oros made a motion to table the item until PG&E can provide detailed answers and onsite subject-matter experts; the motion was seconded and approved by the council.
No formal permit was granted. Council and staff said they will ask PG&E to return with additional information about clearance measurements, the feasibility and cost of CPUC Rule 20 undergrounding for this short span, and more precise site photos and engineering documentation before the council takes a final vote.
Why it matters: The proposal would remove mature street trees at one of Gonzales’s entry points and replace them with shrubs that staff say grow to 6–8 feet and tolerate local soils. Council members said the decision affects the city’s visual character and future tree canopy, and raised the potential for alternatives that could preserve trees if the utility lines were buried.
What’s next: City staff will request PG&E provide subject-matter experts and additional technical documentation and will bring the item back for council consideration at a future meeting.
