AgdaPkt 2002-11-18 - Laserfiche WebLink

Browse Search

November 18, 2002 Subject Ordinance amending Section 18.242 of the City Code relating to undergrounding of utilities Recommendation Approve the recommended changes to Section 18.242 of the City Code, relating to undergrounding of overhead utilities and approve the Resolution establishing the fee for undergrounding. Background In 1998, the City Council adopted a new set of regulations, Article XlV - Local Development Standards, as part of Chapter 18 - "Local Improvement and Planning." The Local Development Standards required irnprovements in the public right-of-way whenever a new building was built, or "substantial" remodeling took place. The type of improvements that have to be brought up to current standards include: · Water lines · Sewer lines · Curb, gutter, and sidewalk · Street paving · Street lights · Street trees · Undergrounding of overhead utilities Since the Ordinance was adopted in 1998, it has helped to clarify development requirements and provide needed improvements to the public right-of-way. The one area that has, and still is causing problems, is the undergrounding of utilities. As it turns out, undergrounding only effects one side of the street; therefore, with our current ordinance, development on one side of the street pays all of the cost. Undergrounding can be the single highest off-site cost for a small project being nearly as expensive as the building itself, and short "pieces" of undergrounding do not substantially improve the appearance of the street frontage. This section of the Code was amended in 2001, with the hope of eliminating some of the inequities, which it did, but the requirements can still be excessively expensive for some projects particularly smaller "new" buildings. A recent example is a small retail building that would have to underground over 200 feet of overhead wires. The estimate of cost for undergrounding adds $40 per square foot to the building cost. Another issue that has