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Council asks staff to study requirement to put new service lines underground for new development
Summary
City Administrator Bronson and utility staff asked council to consider a policy requiring new service lines and cable for new construction be placed underground. Bronson said upfront homeowner/developer costs might increase roughly $3,000'$5,000, with higher costs in remote locations, and council asked staff to return with options and exceptions.
City Administrator Bronson opened a policy discussion about requiring new electric-service lines (and conduit for cable) to be installed underground for newly constructed residential and commercial buildings. "If you build a new house... we would require the electric lines to be underground," Bronson stated, framing the change as a way to "harden" infrastructure and reduce outages caused by storms and falling trees.
Bronson estimated an additional upfront cost of roughly "$3,000 to $5,000" per new structure but acknowledged higher costs in remote locations, citing an example where running power underground cost about "$28,000" on a nearby mountain project. Council members asked about fee structures, contractor options, potential hardship exemptions for properties far from roads, and enforcement through the county permitting process. Several members favored further research; Bronson said staff would return with policy options, distance/exemption thresholds and cost estimates at a future meeting.
