Special assessment districts for undergrounding utilities

 Over the years I've mentioned the issue of above ground utility lines in cities, which can be ugly and are subject to failure during storms.  DC is unusual in that above ground lines are banned in the core city (called the L'Enfant City) with an exception for streetcar wires.

12th Street NE, Brookland.  Photo: LoopNet.

When in 2007, I worked as a Main Street commercial district revitalization program manager in the Brookland neighborhood--located in DC's outer city, originally "Washington County", residents there wanted the lines undergrounded on 12th Street, the major commercial street of the neighborhood.

But they were wacked in the way they went about it.  Rather than working with area planning efforts by the city planning office and transportation agency, they argued with them, and the city wasn't interested in undergrounding, because the local utility, Pepco, quoted such high rates (10x the rate of other cities).  

Ideally a utility wire underground program would also have been extended to other major streets in the neighborhood like Monroe Street (pictured), Michigan Avenue, 4th Street, etc.  Photo: Elvert Barnes.

IN FACT, after the actual streetscape construction project was underway, then some litigious residents sued the city over this.  

But if they started out with an attitude focused on working together, focused on solutions, maybe change could have been effected ("Moving towards an underground utility line infrastructure in DC," 2008)

Newport Beach, California has special assessment districts for utility undergrounding.  I just found out that in 2016, Newport Beach passed legislation allowing for the creation of Utility Underground Assessment Districts, so that residents can pay off over time the high cost of burying the lines and re-connecting buildings to the grid from overground to underground ("Underground utility lines in Newport Beach to go to vote," Orange County Register).

Currently, at least six neighborhoods in the city are in the process of burying utility lines, using this method to ease the upfront cost.  Although not without difficulties ("Higher-than-expected bids prolong process of putting Newport utility lines underground," Daily Pilot).

Assessment districts.  

-- "Revisiting creating Public Improvement Districts in transit station catchment areas," 2020,  recommends creating PIDs in association with transit station catchment areas.  In DC, the Brookland commercial district is in the catchment area of the Brookland Metrorail Station

-- "Basic planning building blocks for urban commercial district revitalization programs that most cities haven't packaged: Part 1 | The first six". 2020.  Item #6 discusses "regularized funding" for improvements and discusses special assessment districts such as Business Improvement Districts (which San Diego also uses to fund Main Street programs), San Francisco's Green Benefits District, etc.  

-- "Public improvement fees as sales tax add-ons," 2016.  Colorado and other states have sales tax funded revenue streams for public improvements.

Conclusion.  Had Brookland residents focused on the outcome, getting undergrounded utility lines, instead of being obstreperous, maybe this method could have been adopted to facilitate the project.  Instead, they lost the opportunity for improvement for at least a generation.

Likely, the program in Newport Beach has influenced other Orange County communities, as Dana Point is considering launching a similar program ("Dana Point will consider undergrounding utility lines to improve views and safety," Orange County Register).  The city, at the instigation of residents, is looking into a very ambitious undergrounding program.  Probably, they'll end up with a less ambitious program, more like that of Newport Beach, where residents willing to make the change, agree to special assessments.

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Also see "Paradise Valley Views Free of Utility Poles," Newport This Week, about a project in Greater Newport, Rhode Island where utility wires were undergrounded to preserve viewshed qualities.  There are nice before and after photos.