Council reviews PGE franchise revisions; staff seeks limits on vegetation removals and clarity on undergrounding

Staff summarized recent changes to the Pacific Power (PGE) franchise language and proposed council direction before staff returns to the utility. The updated PGE language would give the utility broader vegetation-management authority; staff recommended the city require PGE to confine pruning and removals to existing easements with notice and replanting considerations when full removal occurs.

"PGE came back with new language on vegetation management, and it was essentially that they can prune or remove trim vegetation they deemed a threat or hazard to its electrical system," staff said. Council members raised concerns that the city has no current tree-removal process or nuisance-tree list, which would leave property owners with limited protection. Staff proposed adjusting the language to require notice to property owners and to leave outside-easement decisions to owner discretion.

Staff also summarized a prior undergrounding negotiation point: when the city had required undergrounding, staff initially sought compensation if PGE later required overhead transmission, but PGE responded by agreeing to follow the city's permitting process; staff said impacts would be subject to negotiation. Councilors also asked about the franchise fee: staff confirmed a 3.5% franchise fee on gross revenues and discussed an additional ~1.5% charge noted in the packet.