Atherton staff seeks council direction on exceptions to 1966 undergrounding rule after developers, PG&E describe technical limits

Town staff asked the council on March 5 for policy guidance on whether to create a formal exception process to a 1966 Atherton ordinance that requires utility service lines to be installed underground for new construction.

“We are concerned that the most expedient way causes impacts to the neighbors,” staff member Robert Avadia said, summarizing a set of real‑world scenarios in which developers asked to extend overhead service because the nearest PG&E pole contains transformers or the primary line cannot be brought underground without substantial work.

The code language staff cited states that “all telephone, telegraph, electrical wires and other such services to newly constructed wires shall be constructed underground” and applies to dwellings that did not have building permits issued before the ordinance’s effective date. Staff described four typical scenarios: flag lots where the nearest pole has a transformer; cul‑de‑sac poles with transformers; situations where installing a pad‑mounted transformer on the property is feasible but primary wiring distance causes voltage drop; and properties adjacent to the Atherton drainage channel where…