Residents press Mobile City officials over Alabama Power transmission poles in neighborhoods
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Summary
At a Dec. 9 Mobile City Council meeting, residents pressed city leaders and an Alabama Power representative over large transmission poles placed near front yards; planning staff said utilities are not currently regulated through zoning but the council can pursue ordinance changes or franchise terms.
Residents and council members pressed city officials on Dec. 9 after neighbors raised alarms about Alabama Power placing large transmission poles near front yards, saying many residents did not know land had been purchased and worried about visual, property and health impacts.
At the meeting a resident described learning that Alabama Power had acquired land and was installing "big, massive utility poles" and said neighbors felt excluded from the decision-making. "Nobody wanna see that in their yard," the resident told the council, urging more advance community meetings and clearer notification.
A company representative told the council staff that the utility had contacted affected customers, that homeowners directly impacted had signed easements and that they had been financially compensated "for the right to their property." The representative said the company had reached out to the two individuals who had requested to speak.
City planning staff told council members that, under the city's current Unified Development Code, utility lines and transmission poles are not a land use regulated through the standard zoning process. "Utility lines, things of that nature are not currently regulated through the zoning process," a planning staff member said, but added the council could pursue an amendment to the zoning ordinance if it wished.
Council members suggested several options for stronger local oversight, including spelling out expectations in franchise agreements or reviving a specialized committee to review pole placement and standards. One council member urged staff to consider whether zoning text amendments or franchise provisions could better protect residential streetscape and community character.
The exchange left the council with two clear next steps: staff said they would check records and public-notice language to confirm how affected residents were notified, and planning staff said they could draft options for an ordinance amendment or franchise language for future council consideration. No formal vote was recorded on an ordinance at the meeting.
The council also noted a permanent easement request to Alabama Power to serve the Mobile Arena that was on the consent agenda; members indicated some easements were likely to move forward while they pursue follow-up about neighborhood communications and possible zoning changes.
