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Wagoner County sets 18-foot minimum for utility attachments on county right-of-way
Summary
The Wagoner County Board of County Commissioners on May 5 approved an amendment to county right-of-way regulations setting an 18-foot minimum clearance for utility and communications attachments after debate about farm equipment clearance, sag and broadband expansion.
The Wagoner County Board of County Commissioners approved an amendment to the county's right-of-way activity regulations on May 5 that sets an 18-foot minimum clearance for utility and communications attachments, the board said.
The change, approved unanimously, modifies proposed language that initially called for a 20-foot clearance over roads and 18 feet for parallel attachments. County staff had proposed the 20/18 split; telecommunications companies and several commissioners pressed for a uniform 18-foot standard to enable more pole attachments for broadband work while still meeting safety codes.
The issue drew technical discussion about sag in attached lines, overpass and farm-equipment clearance and pole-owner responsibilities. Jeremy (county staff) explained the earlier recommendation: higher clearance over roads and lower clearance parallel to roads to reduce conflicts with tall loads. Kurt (county staff) and commissioners raised concerns about farm equipment and tall loads at private property access points, and pointed to ODOT and NESC guidance when discussing minimum safe heights.
Stewart Carroll of Cox Communications said the company's federal broadband grant work is driving new attachments across the county. "...we received last year from the Broadband office, which we're using to avoid about 13 different homes 1,300 different homes in rural Lager County," he said, describing the scale of planned service expansion. Emily Kiefner of MetroNet said the companies generally follow pole-owner requirements and NESC spacing, and that losing two feet of attachment space (from 20 to 18) could force more undergrounding in some locations.
Commissioners discussed practical trade-offs. Several noted that roadway overpasses and changes in roadway or driveway grade can reduce vertical clearance and that developers or haulers sometimes must obtain permits or coordinate with pole owners for exceptionally tall loads. After discussion the board voted to approve the amendment with the change to require an 18-foot minimum clearance across the board (parallel and road crossings).
County staff said they will publish the amended rule language and that pole owners will retain discretion under existing codes about exact attachment placement and required separations. The planning and engineering staff will incorporate NESC-related clearance language and follow up with affected utilities about implementation timelines.
The board's action was recorded as Resolution 2025-052 and passed by roll call vote.
