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SECTION 17. Retirement of Overhead Facilities. The City Council may determine whether it is in the public interest that all facilities within the City, or within certain districts designated by the City, be permanently placed and maintained underground by a date certain or target date, independently of undergrounding required pursuant to Section 16 of this Ordinance. The decision to underground existing facilities must be preceded by a public hearing, after notice published for two consecutive weeks and written notice mailed to the utilities affected at least 30 days prior to the hearing. At the hearing the City Council must consider, at a minimum, all of the issues stated in 17.2 below and make findings. Undergrounding of existing facilities may not take place until the City Council has, after hearing and notice, adopted a plan in accordance with 17.3 below. 17.1. Public Hearings. A hearing must be open to the public and may be continued from time to time. At each hearing any person interested must be given an opportunity to be heard. The subject of the public hearings shall be the issue of whether Facilities in the right-of-way in the City, or located within a certain district, shall all be located underground by a date certain. Hearings are not necessary for the undergrounding required under Section 16 of this Ordinance. 17.2. Public Hearing Issues. The issues to be addressed at the public hearings include but are not limited to: (a) The costs and benefits to the public of requiring the undergrounding of all facilities in the right-of-way. (b) The feasibility and cost of undergrounding all facilities by a date certain as determined by the City and the affected utilities. (c) The tariff requirements, procedure and rate design for recovery or intended recovery of incremental costs for undergrounding by the utilities from ratepayers within the City. (d) Alternative financing options available if the City deems it in the public interest to require undergrounding by a date certain and deems it appropriate to participate in the cost otherwise borne by the ratepayers. Upon completion of the hearing or hearings, the City Council must make written findings on whether it is in the public interest to establish a plan under which all facilities will be underground, either Citywide or within districts designated by the City. 17.3. Undergrounding Plan. If the City finds that it is in the public interest to underground all or substantially all facilities in the public right of way, the City must establish a plan for such undergrounding. The plan for undergrounding must include at least the following elements: (a) Timetable for the undergrounding. (b) Designation of districts for the undergrounding unless, undergrounding plan is Citywide (c) Exceptions to the undergrounding requirement and procedure for establishing such exceptions. (d) Procedures for the undergrounding process, including but not limited to coordination with City projects and provisions to ensure compliance with nondiscrimination requirements under the law.