Somerville committee keeps Eversource conduit requests in committee pending building permits and pole work

The Somerville City licenses and permits committee on Feb. 25 did not approve several Eversource requests to install conduit and instead asked staff and the utility to return with building-permit confirmations and pole-work plans.

Chair Emily Hart (City Councilor, Ward 7) introduced two grant-of-location applications from Eversource — 25 feet of conduit on Oak Street to serve 10 Oak Street and 75 feet on Prospect Street to serve 91 Prospect Street — and a separate 62-foot conduit request on Ivalu Street to serve 38 Ivalu Street. Hart said the committee had previously discussed one of the locations but that the applications were not properly noticed as public hearings at the last meeting.

Jacqueline Duffy of Eversource told the committee that utility applicants often file for electrical service before a building permit is issued and that the utility begins its internal process when an owner requests service. “We get it the ball rolling as soon as we get the application going,” Duffy said, adding that it can take months to schedule hearings and crew work. She offered to place a note on work orders instructing crews not to perform work until a building permit is on file.

Committee members raised safety and aesthetic concerns about multiple and leaning poles and wires running through tree branches. One committee member said the city should avoid “stacking elements on indefinitely” and urged consolidation to “a single strong pole that’s not about to fall down.” Duffy said her inspection found a double pole that was being held by a brace and that other poles may need replacement; she said some transfer work is delayed while crews respond to outages elsewhere.

Because the applications were not accompanied by confirmed building permits and because of unresolved pole and transfer issues, Chair Hart recommended the committee keep the items in committee until the city had more complete permit and pole-replacement information. For one of the Prospect Street applications (item 5), the committee voted to refer the application to the full City Council without recommendation so that a properly noticed public hearing can occur at the council level.

Clerk Poteer recorded the committee’s roll-call vote on the referral and later recorded unanimous approval of the meeting minutes and the committee’s recommendation regarding the earlier public hearing (item 2). The committee did not approve any conduit installations at the Feb. 25 meeting; members said they expect the utility to return with building-permit confirmations, clearer scope of required pole work and any stipulations for safe service connections.

The committee’s next step is administrative: Eversource or the property owner must notify the city when a building permit is filed and the utility must supply details about pole replacements and transfers. The referred Prospect Street application will be placed on the City Council’s docket for a noticed public hearing before the licensing committee considers the matter again.