Commissioners press staff to 'future proof' utilities, rethink bikeway threshold in Title 16 update

Commissioners used the Title 16 discussion to ask staff to consider changes that would reduce future infrastructure costs and increase multimodal access. Commissioner Marshall, speaking from experience as an architect, flagged electrical-service constraints in older subdivisions: "All the panels there are sized at a 100 amp. We now 200 is the minimum to do pretty much anything," he said, urging that the ordinance consider requiring oversized conduits or feeder capacity where feasible so future upgrades do not require tearing up streets.

Staff and counsel answered that the subdivision process is one of the opportunities to require increased sizing and that oversizing provisions can be tied to reimbursement agreements where appropriate, but they also cautioned that conditions must have a nexus to the project and that some aspects (for example, PG&E equipment or standards) may be outside the city's control. On bikeways, staff noted the draft had a 200-parcel threshold drawn from another city's ordinance; commissioners and staff agreed the commission should retain flexibility to require bikeway dedication as a condition of tentative map approval rather than rely on a hard 200-parcel trigger.

Commissioners asked staff to return clarified language reflecting these priorities for the City Council packet and to research comparable approaches used by peer cities.