HomeMy WebLinkAboutCity Council Meeting 01/10/2012 Agenda Item 11- Considerations of Revisions to L.E. Mun. Code Re: Undergrounding Utilities LAKE LS T . :
DREAM EXTREME
REPORT TO CITY COUNCIL
TO: HONORABLE MAYOR
AND MEMBERS OF THE CITY COUNCIL
FROM: ROBERT A. BRADY
CITY MANAGER
DATE: JANUARY 10, 2012
SUBJECT: CONSIDERATION OF REVISIONS TO LAKE ELSINORE MUNICIPAL
CODE REGARDING UNDERGROUNDING OF OVERHEAD UTILITIES
Background
In November of 2011, Mayor Pro Tem Hickman requested staff to review the adequacy
of the City's existing ordinance concerning undergrounding overhead utilities and
propose any necessary amendments to the City's municipal code. Lake Elsinore
Municipal Code, Chapter 16.64, entitled "Improvements- Utilities ", identifies the
requirement for utilities to be placed underground. As suggested by Mayor Pro Tem
Hickman, staff has researched the underground utility ordinance for the City of Ontario
as a potential sample template for an updated ordinance for the City of Lake Elsinore.
Discussion
Lake Elsinore Municipal Code Chapter 16.64 identifies the requirements and describes
the variety of utilities that must be installed underground as part of a new development.
Chapter Section16.64 provides a basic foundation for requiring undergrounding utilities
on new development projects.
The City of Ontario ordinance expands the undergrounding requirement by imposing an
undergrounding requirement on both new development and certain existing
developments. If a property owner with an existing structure is seeking to add more
than 1,000 square feet of new improvements or a 50% increase in existing
improvements, the requirement to underground existing above - ground utilities is
triggered.
Staff believes that the Ontario ordinance does an excellent job at defining and clarifying
when and what utilities must be undergrounded. Adding additional clarity to the City's
existing ordinance may reduce the risk of confusion and possible conflicts with
AGENDA ITEM NO. 11
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Undergrounding of Overhead Utilities
January 10, 2012
Page 2
developers in the future. However, the Ontario ordinance also contains a significant
expansion of the undergrounding requirement to existing properties seeking permits to
expand. Accordingly, staff seeks further direction from the City Council.
Fiscal Impact
None, construction of the facility will be paid by the applicant or property owner for each
development.
Recommendations:
1. Direct Staff as to whether to prepare a draft ordinance amending Chapter 16.64
consistent with the above - referenced discussion and any City Council comments,
and present the draft ordinance for formal consideration by the City Council at
the next regular meeting.
Prepared by: Ken Seumalo
Director of Public Works
Approved by: Robert A. Brad
City Manager ta t,
Attachments:
A) LEMC Chapter 16.64 Improvements — Utilities
B) Ontario Municipal Code — Article, 7, Chapter 7: Undergrounding of
Overhead Utilities
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EXHIBIT "A"
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Chapter 16.64 IMPROVEMENTS — UTILITIES ?age 1 or z
Chapter 16.64
IMPROVEMENTS — UTILITIES
Sections:
16.64.010 General requirements.
16.64.020 Arrangements for installations.
16.64.030 Appurtenant equipment.
16.64.040 Easements approval.
16.64.010 General requirements.
All utility lines and facilities, including but not limited to electric power,
telephone or other communication, street lighting, cable television lines, and
other such utility lines, shall be placed underground, and shall be installed in
accordance with standards prescribed by the California Public Utilities
Commission in streets or alleys, or in easements provided for that purpose
with widths and locations that are adequate for the service agencies. Such
standards shall apply to any agency owning or operating the line whether or
not it is subject to the jurisdiction of said Public Utilities Commission. If no
standard is so prescribed, installation shall be made in accordance with
practices usual in the particular field, subject to the approval of the City
Engineer. [Ord. 529 § 6.12(A), 1973].
16.64.020 Arrangements for installations.
The land divider shall be responsible for complying with the requirements of
this chapter in accordance with tariffs of the respective servicing utilities as
field with the California Public Utilities Commission, and the conditions of
approval, and shall make the necessary arrangements with the serving
agencies for the installation of their respective facilities. [Ord. 529 § 6.12(B),
1973].
16.64.030 Appurtenant equipment.
For the purposes of this section, appurtenances and associated equipment
such as, but not limited to, surface- mounted transformers, concealed ducts,
and pedestal- mounted terminal boxes and meter cabinets may be placed
above ground. [Ord. 529 § 6.12(C), 1973].
16.64.040 Easements approval.
All utility easements shall be approved by the serving utility companies, and
such approval shall be submitted to the City Engineer prior to recordation of
the tract map. [Ord. 529 § 6.12(D), 1973].
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Chapter 16.64 IMPROVEMENTS — UTILITIES Page 2 of 2
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through Ordinance 1285, passed August 24, 2010. (http: / /www.lake- elsinore.org /)
Disclaimer: The City Clerk's Office has the official version of the City Telephone: (951) 674 -3124
Lake Elsinore Municipal Code. Users should contact the City Code Publishing Company
Clerk's Office for ordinances passed subsequent to the ( http: / /www.codepublishing.com /)
ordinance cited above.
•
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EXHIBIT "B"
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Ontario Municipal Code
CHAPTER 7: UNDERGROUNDING OF OVERHEAD UTILITIES
Article 1: Purpose and Objectives; Definitions
7 -7.101 Purpose and objectives
7 -7.102 Definitions
Article 2: Requirements, Application, Utility Devices Assessment Form and Procedure for Permits
7 -7.201 Requirements
7 -7.202 Application
7 -7.203 Utility devices assessment form
7 -7.204 Procedure for permits
Article 3: Exclusions and Exemptions
7 -7.301 Exclusions
7 -7.302 Exemptions
Exhibit A
Exhibit C
Article 1: Purpose and Objectives; Definitions
Sec. 7- 7.101. Purpose and objectives.
The purpose of this chapter is to serve the public health, safety and welfare by requiring the undergrounding of
overhead utilities and to specifically achieve the following objectives:
(a) Eliminate potential hazards to life and property in the event of emergencies or disasters such as
earthquakes, fires, floods, hazardous or toxic waste releases, rains, and riots;
(b) Facilitate the delivery of emergency services to persons and property located adjacent to the public right -
of -way;
(c) Improve or increase the utility of the public right -of -way for such public uses as pedestrian travel, ease of
deliveries to adjacent property, and landscaping treatments; and
(d) Improve or increase the visibility of persons operating motor vehicles on public and private streets and
thereby promote the safety of the pedestrian and vehicle operators.
(§ 1, Ord. 2804, eff. October 21, 2004)
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Sec. 7-7.102. Definitions.
For the purpose of this chapter, the following definitions shall apply unless the context clearly indicates or
requires a different meaning.
(a) "Arterial street." This term has the meaning given to "street, arterial" in Chapter 1 of Title 9 of this Code.
(b) "Collector street." This term has the meaning given to "street, collector" in Chapter 1 of Title 9 of this
Code.
(c) "Development." Any construction, erection or installation of any facility or structure on any property.
(d) "Improvement." Any addition or modification to any existing facility or structure on any property.
(e) "Local street." This term has the meaning given to "street, local" in Chapter 1 of Title 9 of this Code.
(f) "New Model Colony." That portion of the City identified as the New Model Colony on the map attached
hereto and incorporated herein as Exhibit "A." With respect to territory that may be annexed to the City subsequent
to the effective date of this section, territory located south of Riverside Drive shall be considered part of the New
Model Colony.
(g) "Old Model Colony." That portion of the City identified as the Old Model Colony on the map attached
hereto and incorporated herein as Exhibit "A." With respect to territory that may be annexed to the City subsequent
to the effective date of this section, territory located north of Riverside Drive shall be considered part of the Old
Model Colony.
(h) "Permit." Any permit required to be issued by the City, or any of its officials, as a prerequisite to the
development or improvement of any property within the City including, but not limited to, any building permit,
conditional use permit, occupancy permit, site development approval or subdivision approval.
(i) "Utility device." Any device necessary, convenient or required for the transmission of energy or any
communication signal to or from any property within the City.
(§ 1, Ord. 2804, eff. October 21, 2004, § 1, Ord. 2892, eff. July 3, 2008)
Article 2: Requirements, Application, Utility Devices Assessment Form and
Procedure for Permits
Sec. 7-7.201. Requirements.
(a) All proposed new development within those areas of the city described in § 7 -7.202 of this Code shall be
required, as a condition of development and subject to the exemptions and exclusions set forth in this chapter, to
place underground all new and existing overhead cable television, electrical, telephone and other devices for the
transmission and/or distribution or energy or communications, including but not limited to lines, poles,
transformers, and related devices. The requirement to underground utility devices shall be imposed on each and
every permit issued by the City for the development or improvement of any property to which this subsection
applies.
(b) The undergrounding of all such utility devices shall be performed by the owner or developer of the
property seeking its development or improvement, or any construction thereon, at the owner's or developer's sole
expense. The owner or developer shall arrange for the placement of said utility devices underground with the
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appropriate utility or communication company including the processing of any application, payment of any fees or
expenses, the submission and approval of any plans and the coordination of said undergrounding with the City
Engineer. This requirement to underground shall not abrogate any rights offsets, or claims which the owner or
developer may have as to any utility or communication company.
(c) No certificate of occupancy shall be issued for any property whose development or improvement requires
the undergrounding of utility devices unless and until compliance with this chapter shall have been accomplished to
the satisfaction of the City Engineer. Where an owner or developer has entered into a written agreement with each
applicable utility company to underground utilities and paid the required costs, a certificate of occupancy may be
issued upon proof thereof.
(§ 1, Ord. 2804, eff. October 21, 2004, § 2, Ord. 2892, eff. July 3, 2008)
Sec. 7-7.202. Application.
The requirement to underground utility devices created and imposed by this chapter shall apply, subject to the
exclusions and exemptions provided in this chapter, to each and every property within the New Model Colony and
along arterial and collector streets within the Old Model Colony, in any case in which the owner or developer of real
property requires any permit from the City for its development or improvement, including any improvement to any
existing facility or structure where the improvement exceeds one thousand (1,000) square feet or fifty percent
(50 %), whichever is smaller, of the area of the existing facility or structure.
(§ 1, Ord. 2804, eff. October 21, 2004, § 3, Ord. 2892, eff. July 3, 2008)
Sec. 7- 7.203. Utility devices assessment form.
(a) Upon an application for any permit from the City to develop or improve any property, the owner or
developer shall submit a utility devices assessment form without which the permit application shall be incomplete
and ineligible for action by the City. The utility devices assessment form shall require the following information:
(1) The name, address and telephone number of the developer and owner;
(2) The location of the property and its legal description;
(3) The nature of the proposed development or improvement;
(4) A statement from each utility or communication company serving the property containing a general
description of the utility devices capable of being undergrounded and the cost thereof; and
(5) Any other information required by the City Engineer to implement the purposes and requirements of
this chapter.
(b) The City Engineer shall review the utility devices assessment form in order to identify which utility
devices described in the assessment form shall be required for placement underground and which utility devices
may be exempted. The City Engineer may require the owner to amplify or revise the utility devices assessment
form to assist in making this determination. Upon review, the City Engineer shall determine which utility devices
identified shall be placed underground for each development or improvement and which utility devices may be
exempted. However, no utility device may be exempted unless it has been identified on the utility devices
assessment form.
(c) The approval or issuance of any permit to develop or improve any property shall be conditioned by the
requirement to underground each utility device required to be placed underground by the City Engineer.
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(d) In the exercise of the discretion granted to the City Engineer, or his or her designee herein, he or she shall
determine which utility devices shall be placed underground and require the owner or developer to place said utility
devices underground on the property subject to the development or improvement as follows:
(1) Except as otherwise provided in this subsection, the required utility devices shall be placed underground
along the entire frontage of the subject property from boundary line to boundary line as depicted in Diagram C -1,
Exhibit "C" of this chapter.
(2) Whenever a utility pole is located on the frontage of the subject property and within five (5) feet of its
boundary line, the required utility devices shall be placed underground along the frontage of the property from
boundary line to the pole except for that distance of five (5) feet or less between the pole and the other boundary
line as depicted in Diagram C -2, Exhibit "C "; and the utility pole may remain in place and utilized as a riser.
(3) Whenever a utility pole is located within one hundred fifty (150) feet of a boundary line of the subject
property, the required utility devices shall be placed underground along the entire frontage of the subject property
from boundary line to boundary line and from one of the boundary lines to said existing utility pole as depicted in
Diagram C -3, Exhibit "C ". Whenever a utility pole is located more than one hundred fifty (150) feet from a
boundary line of the subject property, a new utility pole shall be installed at one boundary line of the subject
property and the required utility devices shall be placed underground along the entire frontage of the subject
property from one boundary line to the newly installed utility pole as depicted in Diagram C -3, Exhibit "C ".
(4) In the event that the subject property is located on a corner where two streets intersect, the required
undergrounding shall extend across one or both of the streets to the next existing pole provided that the pole is
within one hundred fifty (150) feet of one of the boundary lines of the subject property as depicted in Diagram C -4,
Exhibit "C ".
(§ 1, Ord. 2804, eff. October 21, 2004)
Sec. 7- 7.204. Procedure for permits.
Where the City Engineer has authority to issue a permit for the development or improvement of any property
within the City, said official shall condition the permit upon the placement of specified utility devices underground.
For other development approvals, said official shall recommend to the Planning Commission or the City Council
which utility devices shall be placed underground and which utility devices, developments or improvements are
exempt from this chapter. Thereafter, the Development Advisory Board, the Planning Commission or the City
Council shall determine which utility devices shall be placed underground or exempted for each development or
improvement and which developments or improvements are exempt pursuant to this chapter.
(§ 1, Ord. 2804, eff. October 21, 2004)
Article 3: Exclusions and Exemptions
Sec. 7-7.301. Exclusions.
The following utility devices shall be exempted from underground placement:
(a) To the extent a utility company requires to perform maintenance, upgrade or redesign under the provisions
of their tariff schedule or franchise agreement;
(b) Street lights and traffic signals;
(c) Utility devices operated at voltages in excess of thirty -four thousand five hundred (34,500) volts;
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(d) Overhead utility devices located or to be located in local streets, alleys, trails, and /or utility easements in
the Old Model Colony;
(e) Overhead utility lines to serve residential structures may be left or placed above ground where utility poles
presently exist along or near rear property lot lines; and
(f) Appurtenances and associated equipment including, but not limited to, surface - mounted transformers and
switches, pedestal- mounted terminal boxes and meter cabinets which may be left or placed above ground on the
condition that can be screened from public view.
(§ 1, Ord. 2804, eff. October 21, 2004, § 4, Ord. 2892, eff. July 3, 2008)
Sec. 7- 7.302. Exemptions.
The City Engineer shall exempt the following developments or improvements of any property outside of the
New Model Colony whenever the City Engineer, in his or her discretion, that the proposed developments or
improvements fit any one of the following criteria:
(a) Interior tenant improvements and special conditional use permits for which construction is not required;
(b) Exterior upgrading or repair of existing improvements, including but not limited to re- proofing, additions
of awnings, landscaping, equipment screening, repainting and application of other exterior finishes;
(c) Additions of functional equipment to any existing improvements, including but not limited to air
conditioners, antennae, block walls and fences, cooling towers, enclosure of outdoor storage areas, loading docks,
satellite dishes, silos and water tanks;
(d) The development of a new single family residence on a property where the adjacent properties are serviced
by overhead utility devices provided that the utility devices to connect the proposed single family residence shall be
placed underground from said proposed residence to the previously existing utility devices; or
(e) Whenever the owner or developer of a subject property is required to underground utility devices under
this chapter but the distance over which the utility devices is less than six hundred fifty (650) feet, the City Engineer
may allow the owner or developer to pay a fee to the City that is equal to the unit cost of placing said utility devices
underground multiplied by the distance over which the undergrounding is required, not to exceed six hundred fifty
(650) feet, in lieu of such undergrounding. The unit price for undergrounding any utility devices shall be based
upon the most recent unit price for undergrounding utility devices over a distance of greater than thirteen hundred
(1,300) feet as established by the utility company that would otherwise be responsible for undergrounding said
utility devices. The owner or developer shall obtain a written statement of the unit price for undergrounding the
required utility devices from the utility serving the subject property and submit it to the City Engineer for
determination of the amount of the in lieu fee.
(f) Whenever existing overhead utility lines or related devices are located in, on or between poles serving both
electrical transmission lines (i.e. those carrying at least sixty -six (66) kV of energy) and electrical distribution lines
(i.e. those carrying less than thirty -four and one -half (34.5) kV of energy) in the Old Model Colony, said lines
required to be placed underground per this chapter may be left intact above ground on those poles provided that the
owner or developer pay an in -lieu fee for undergrounding said utility devices as required by the City Engineer. The
amount of the in -lieu fee shall be determined as provided for in § 7 -7.302 (e).
(§ 1, Ord. 2804, eff. October 21, 2004, § 5, Ord. 2892, eff. July 3, 2008)
Exhibit A.
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Exhibit C.
Utility undergrounding requirements in the OMC for development projects having street frontage in excess of
650 feet.
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UTILITY DEVICES ASSESSMENT FORM EXHIBIT "A"
City of Ontario • Engineering Department
303 E. `B" Street, Ontario, California 91764 • (909) 395 -2025
The under- grounding of utility devices shall be performed in conjunction with the development or improvement of any property, or any
construction thereon, at the property owner's or developer's sole expense. The owner or developer shall arrange for the placement of all
utility devices underground with the appropriate utility or communications company, including the processing of any application,
payment of any fees or expenses, with the submission and approval of any plans.
Project Location: Assessor's Parcel Number:
Project Description:
Project Number:
Utility Devices Currently Serving and/or Located on the Property:
u SCE (electrical service) u Verizon (telephone service) j Cable Television
Utility Devices Required to Serve the Property as Proposed for Development:
• SCE (electrical service) Verizon (telephone service) ' Cable Television
Utility Devices to be Placed Underground and Cost of Undergrounding:
• SCE (electrical service) " Verizon (telephone service) ': Cable Television
Cost: $ Cost: $ Cost: $
Limits of undergrounding:
APPLICANT'S AFFIDAVIT
I hereby certify that the statements and information contained herein are in all respects true and correct to the best of my
knowledge and belief.
Preparer's Signature: Date:
Name (print or type): Phone:
Address: City: Zip:
s\Eng\Forms \utility devices assessment form
Revised 5/12/04 cp
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