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Council approves master plan study to explore undergrounding utilities; one member opposes
Summary
The council authorized a townwide master plan study to evaluate undergrounding overhead power lines and other utilities, including funding mechanisms and GIS mapping from PG&E; the motion passed with one 'no' vote.
The Woodside Town Council on Feb. 11 approved a master plan study to analyze undergrounding overhead utilities townwide, including assessment-district options, phasing, cost estimates, and acquisition of GIS data from PG&E.
Council members and staff described the study as a long-term roadmap (10–20 years) that would give residents information about costs, mechanisms (assessment districts, public-private partnerships) and a petition package that neighborhoods could use if they choose to pursue undergrounding. Staff said the project budget includes a study contract and that one practical benefit will be obtaining detailed GIS files from PG&E showing overhead power line locations for the town’s mapping system.
Council debate touched on cost and scope. Several council members and members of the public noted the high capital cost of undergrounding transmission and distribution lines (cited during the meeting as on the order of millions of dollars per mile) and asked whether high-voltage lines and privately owned slack-line systems would be included. Staff and the consultant representative said the study would be townwide but could be phased and broken into areas; it would also include a pros-and-cons analysis and frequently asked questions (including maintenance and outage-repair tradeoffs) to help neighborhoods decide whether to move forward.
A council motion to proceed with the master plan study passed on roll call with four yes votes and one no (Council member Brown). The council discussed that the study’s findings would not obligate any neighborhood to proceed but would make information available to residents and provide the town with GIS data and an implementation playbook if neighborhoods decide to form assessment districts.
Council members suggested the study be used as input to future town-center planning and emphasized that the plan is intended as a tool for residents rather than a town-funded automatic undergrounding program.
