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Council approves Demeter Street underground utility district under PG&E Rule 28; city to cover fees
Summary
The council adopted a Rule‑28 resolution to designate a Demeter Street underground utility district so the city can use accumulated Rule‑20A credits for conduit conversion; staff requested a minor edit removing an outdated 'borrowing' clause and said the city will absorb project fees rather than charge property owners.
Senior engineer Betul Zahro presented the PG&E Rule‑28 item asking the council to designate Demeter Street as an underground utility district and to authorize the city to use available Rule‑20A credits for the work. Zahro said the city currently holds approximately $900,000 in Rule‑20A funds and that establishing the district is the first step required by the CPUC to dedicate those credits to an undergrounding conversion.
Staff recommended a minor revision to the resolution to remove a 'whereas' that implied borrowing against future credits — Zahro said the CPUC no longer allows borrowing and the sentence is outdated. Public commenters supported the undergrounding and urged staff to pursue any available federal OBAG/OBAG‑type grants to extend funding and to consider other high‑priority streets.
Council voted to adopt the modified resolution and to designate the district; staff clarified the resolution as adopted leaves intact the city’s municipal code authority to create districts but does not change CPUC rules. Zahro said the city will pay associated fees and not pass them to property owners for this conversion.
