Residents press council to fund utility burial after urban-forest plan shows canopy loss

Residents and neighborhood groups urged the Summerville Town Council to include matching funds in the town budget to bury overhead utility lines, citing the town’s Urban Forest Master Plan and an estimated ongoing loss of canopy.

Deb Campo, a Summerville resident, told council the Urban Forest Master Plan (funded by the U.S. Forest Service and completed in July 2023) found an 11% loss in tree canopy across council districts between 2015 and 2019 and projected canopy could fall to 20% by 2040 without intervention. Campo said burying utilities was a specific recommendation of the plan and urged the council to include matching funds in upcoming budgets so the town could use the Dominion Energy “nonstandard service” funds for undergrounding.

Campo said the 2021 franchise agreement between the town and Dominion provides that both parties set aside funds for nonstandard services, chiefly to convert overhead lines to underground; she said the funds should have accrued more than $1.2 million each by 2021 but that those funds have not been used as intended. She asked council to make a matching appropriation to enable ongoing utility burial work.

Council members thanked speakers and noted parts of the town’s Unified Development Ordinance already incorporate Complete Streets elements, but they acknowledged gaps in older neighborhoods and said the issue should be considered during the upcoming budget process. Council asked staff to include options for funding and implementation as they prepare budget priorities.

Ending — Councilmembers said they would work with staff during budget discussions to evaluate costs and potential use of nonstandard franchise funds and town matches to support targeted utility burial and tree-canopy preservation.