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Commission backs requiring sidewalks and underground utilities for new single‑family homes
Summary
Smithfield Planning Commission on April 15, 2026 voted 5-0 to recommend City Council adopt Ordinance 2026-06, adding development standards to R‑1 zoning that require curb, gutter, sidewalk and undergrounded utility transmission lines for new primary residential builds on single lots.
The Smithfield Planning Commission recommended the City Council approve Ordinance 2026‑06 on April 15, a proposed amendment to the R‑1 Single‑Family Residential Zone that would require installation of sidewalk, curb, gutter and park strip and would require above‑ground site utility transmission lines to be placed underground when a new primary residence is built on a single lot.
Staff presented the draft addition as Section 17.56.060 to Smithfield Municipal Code Title 17, explaining the requirement is limited to new primary residential builds and does not apply to commercial development. The public hearing produced no comments. Commissioners sought clarification on how undergrounding would work in existing subdivisions that have overhead poles; staff said developers could install a transformer box near the existing pole in the ROW and connect underground from that box to the home.
Commissioner Michael Beckstead moved — and Commissioner Klydi Heywood seconded — a motion to recommend approval of the ordinance with amended wording clarifying that single residential lots not part of a subdivision must install curb, gutter and sidewalk and that new utility transmission lines for those lots be placed underground. The motion passed 5‑0 (Beckstead, Henderson, Heywood, Meier, Marshall voting yes; Felshaw, Price and Thatcher absent).
If the City Council adopts the ordinance, new single‑lot residential construction in Smithfield would be expected to include continuous pedestrian infrastructure and underground utility service to the dwelling, subject to detailed design standards in the city’s Construction and Design Standards and existing utility company processes for transformer placement and service connections.
