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Lawrence committee presses utilities on long‑standing 'double pole' problem, cites city ordinance
Summary
Committee members urged National Grid and other utilities to remove duplicate utility poles faster, cited ordinance 8.24.0.02 requiring pole removal within 90 days (or six months for long projects), and directed city departments to inventory remaining 'double pole' tickets while seeking a legal clarification on pole ownership.
The Lawrence City Ordinance & Intergovernmental Relations Committee pressed utility companies on the city's backlog of “double poles” and asked staff for quicker action, citing an existing city ordinance that sets time limits for removal.
During Tuesday's remote meeting, a committee member reported recent meetings with National Grid and representatives from city departments and said there were hundreds of open tickets related to duplicate poles. He said department counts given to the committee were: Department of Public Works (previously 62 tickets, reduced to 11 after data updates), Information Technology 38, and Fire Department 16. The member said he had asked the city attorney to clarify whether the city owns the poles by contract and how the ordinance applies.
The committee noted the text of city ordinance 8.24.0.02, which the committee read aloud and summarized as placing a removal timeline on distribution and telephone companies. The ordinance states that a distribution or telephone company "shall complete the transfer of all wires, all repairs in the removal of the existing pole from the site within 90 days from the date of installation of the new pole," and allows up to six months for commercial or industrial projects expected to exceed a year for completion. The ordinance was adopted in 2008.
Committee members asked DPW, IT and the Fire Department to prepare lists of remaining poles so staff can identify candidates for immediate removal. One committee member proposed advancing a small number of older items from the October 7 docket to the full council as a committee report and public hearing to demonstrate progress while the city attorney and utilities continue to resolve other cases.
The committee also voted to table a pending installation on Beacon Street (document 46425) while staff and utilities continue coordination. For the items the committee did advance, members said they expected National Grid and other providers to coordinate removals more quickly once the city identifies priorities and clarifies contractual ownership.
Next steps noted at the meeting: the city attorney is expected to respond to the committee's request for clarification on ownership and ordinance application; DPW, IT and Fire will deliver inventories of outstanding poles; and the committee will consider advancing a small subset of older items to the full council for public hearing. The committee did not set specific deadlines at Tuesday's meeting.
