TO:
Honorable Mayor and Members of the City Council
THROUGH:
Bruce Moe, City Manager
FROM:
Erick Lee, Public Works Director
Katherine Doherty, City Engineer
Jeff Fijalka, Senior Civil Engineer
SUBJECT:Title
Consideration of Recommendations for the Prioritization of Future Underground Utility Assessment Districts and Discussion of the Results from the 2023 Utility Undergrounding Survey (Public Works Director Lee).
(Estimated Time: 30 Mins.)
DISCUSS AND PROVIDE DIRECTION
Body
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RECOMMENDATION:
Staff recommends that the City Council:
A. Consider recommendations for the prioritization of future Underground Utility Assessment Districts (UUAD); and
B. Receive and file the results of the 2023 UUAD Survey.
FISCAL IMPLICATIONS:
There are no direct fiscal implications associated with this item.
BACKGROUND:
In September 2017, City Council approved a request from staff to revive the City's utility undergrounding program that had been placed in an unofficial moratorium several years earlier during an economic downturn. Since that time, numerous property owners have contacted the City requesting to have their neighborhood added to the list of areas to be considered for future undergrounding projects.
In July 2022, City Council authorized a biennial survey to assess the level of interest in utility undergrounding and to understand the distribution of that interest throughout the areas of potential future undergrounding. The first of these surveys was carried out by City staff during fall 2023.
The survey mailed to property owners contained a single question asking if the owner would be in favor of having the utilities on their block placed underground if the cost to the owner was in the range of $30,000 to $60,000. The survey form provided some general information about the utility undergrounding program, and it also noted that some properties with overhead utility connections might need to perform additiona...
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