CC_Minutes_2004_0524 - Laserfiche WebLink

Home

which Roseville competes for residents and businesses, utility lines are underground. 23. Underground utility lines improve the functionality of the pri- vate or public property they cross. There is more room to play safely and do other outdoor activities if you remove huge above ground poles and wires from property. 24. Tree "trimming" underneath aboveground utility lines often re- sults in tree death and removal. For example, the trees along the north side of County C in front of the Westwood Village Town- homes were cut so severely they eventually had to be removed. Other trees that do survive the "trimming" are left deformed. 25. For the sake of consistency and fairness, the Council should adopt a citywide Policy stating that Staff shall study the feasibil- ity of undergrounding utility facilities every time a City street or pathway Project is considered adjacent to those utility facilities; I recommend the Policy state that unless some special engineering or economic issue surfaces in the feasibility study, the Council will direct the utility company to place their facilities under- ground as part of the Project, with the costs to be spread citywide among all utility customers consistent with the rules and regula- tions of the Minnesota Public Utilities Commission. Applied con- sistently, a Council Policy would assure residents that over the long run everyone will benefit from the small surcharge on everyone's utility bill. 8