Fruita council affirms requirement to underground Xcel transmission line in Riverfront Park

The Fruita City Council on Jan. 7 voted 6-0 to affirm the Planning Commission's confirmation of an administrative decision that the portion of Xcel Energy's 69-kilovolt transmission-line rebuild passing through the city's Riverfront Park (Community Services and Recreation, or CSR, zone) must be placed underground to be compatible with park uses.

City planner Henry Hempel told the council the decision grew from the compatibility standards in Fruita's land-use code and the city's comprehensive and parks plans, and noted the park's riparian character, trails and a disc-golf course in the area under review. "The Riverfront Park is approximately 37 acres in size. This park provides a high-quality open-space resource and is an important riparian location," Hempel said in his presentation.

Why it matters: The council's action requires the applicant to remove above-ground transmission structures from a stretch of the Riverfront Park and to place the line below grade inside the CSR zone, a decision that Xcel and its counsel warned could carry large engineering, construction and funding implications and invite review by the Colorado Public Utilities Commission (PUC).

Background and Planning action: Xcel submitted an application to rebuild a nearly 70-year-old transmission line that runs near Kingsview Estates and across public lands and BLM property. The company proposed a revised overhead route through portions of Fruita that avoid a residential subdivision; the application required conditional use approvals in industrial and residential zones and an administrative review for the CSR zone segment. Staff and the Planning Commission evaluated the application under the city's compatibility criteria (section 17.05.080c of the land-use code) and Fruita's comprehensive plan and parks master plan. The Planning Commission confirmed staff's recommendation on Oct. 8 and required the CSR-zone portion to be underground to preserve the park's natural and recreational values.

Xcel's presentation and cost arguments: Brad McLeod, Xcel Energy area manager for Western Colorado, and Jennifer Chester, senior manager for siting and land rights, told the council Xcel began public outreach in 2021 and hosted open houses in 2022. They said the rebuild replaces wood poles with steel structures, updates line capacity to current standards and removes the old line after construction.

"We are looking for a reversal on the portion in the CSR," McLeod said, noting Xcel had examined multiple routing alternatives and had previously removed the line from the Kingsview subdivision corridor as a concession to residents. Chester and Xcel engineer Parker Rozak said underground transmission construction is materially different from distribution undergrounding: it requires large concrete vaults, conduit grids and substantial excavations and is generally far more expensive and more complex to restore after faults.

Chester summarized two engineering-level cost estimates Xcel provided to staff for longer underground alignments (one using Kingsview Road, another using the planned emergency-access road through the park) and said those estimates show underground construction can be roughly 9to 11 million dollars more than overhead alternatives in this area. "It's not necessarily just an add-on," Chester told council. "Transmission underground construction consists of vaults and conduit and a different footprint than distribution.'"

Legal and regulatory context: Outside counsel Sarah Kellner told the council previous PUC decisions generally hold that utilities may not charge statewide ratepayers for the incremental cost of local undergrounding required by a local jurisdiction where the requirement yields a local benefit. "When the PUC has reviewed similar matters, the PUC has required the local jurisdiction to pay the additional undergrounding cost," Kellner said, and she noted Xcel is prepared to negotiate cost-sharing but said that, absent an agreement, the regulatory precedent is a significant factor.

Staff rationale and code interpretation: Hempel and City Attorney Mary Elizabeth Geiger told council that the compatibility standard requires the city to consider whether proposed uses can coexist with existing adjacent uses without a disproportionate or severe impact. Staff concluded the overhead structures and the visual and physical presence of poles and wires across the CSR riparian open space would be incompatible with the park's intended open-space, trail and passive-recreation uses and recommended conditioning approval on undergrounding that segment.

Council deliberations and public record: Council members asked technical and fiscal questions of Xcel and staff, and multiple public comments during the Planning Commission process and at the council meeting were included in the official record. Xcel pointed to existing examples in other Colorado communities where trails and disc-golf courses coexist with overhead transmission lines; staff and the Planning Commission concluded that, in Fruita's riverfront setting and under the city's comprehensive-plan goals for preservation of natural areas, undergrounding was the appropriate measure to ensure compatibility.

Vote and next steps: Councilor Williams moved and the council adopted an amended motion affirming the Planning Commission's confirmation that the CSR-zone portion be undergrounded to achieve compatibility with the Riverfront Park; the motion passed 6-0. The council may still consider subsequent agreements about routing, engineering and cost-sharing if the city chooses to pursue a negotiated undergrounding alignment with Xcel. Xcel said it may seek PUC review if parties cannot reach a funding agreement for underground construction.

Councilor Williams, who moved the affirmation, framed the decision narrowly: "Tonight we're determining compatibility under our land-use code and the comprehensive plan," she said. "Other negotiations on cost-sharing and alignment are separate conversations."

Ending: The city and Xcel left open further discussion on routing and potential agreements; Xcel said it will continue public outreach and engage with county and federal review agencies for approvals on other segments that cross unincorporated Mesa County and BLM land.