HomeMy WebLinkAbout1994-09-16 Memo CONFIDENTIALs r ,c,q .
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- MEMORANDUM DATE: September.16# 1994
TO: Board of Directors
Peter L. Holzmeister
FROM;: Steven C. Gross and Christina M. Bark
CLIENT; Truckee Donner Public Utility District.:
RE: Truckee's authority to require undergrounding of facilities
This memorandum responds to an issue raised at the September 6, 1994 Board
meeting regarding whether the Town of Truckee has the power to require the District to
underground its facilities. The answer to this question depends on the manner the Town
of Truckee attempts to regulate the location of electrical and water facilities.
If the Town of Truckee seeks to regulate the undergrounding of facilities by building
ordinance, the District would generally not fall under the Town's jurisdiction. Building
ordinances do not apply to the location or construction of facilities for the production,
generation, storage, or transmission of water, waste water, or electrical energy by a local
agency. See Government Code § 53091. However, the law does not explicitly address
whether the Town could regulate the distribution of water and/or electrical energy using
building ordinances. If the Town attempts to regulate distribution of electrical energy,
further research regarding this issue is required.
If the Town of Truckee seeks to regulate the undergrounding of facilities by z nin
ordinance, the Town could regulate the District regarding the location or construction of
facilities for the storage or transmission of electrical energy, provided, that such zoning
ordinances make provision for such facilities. See Government Code § 53091. The zoning
ordinance would not apply to the location or construction of facilities for the production,
generation, storage, or transmission of water, nor for the production or generation of
electrical energy, nor to electrical substations in an electrical transmission system which
received electricity at less than 100,000 volts. In addition,the zoning ordinance would also
not apply to facilities subject to the public hearing procedures of Public Utilities Code §
12808.5.
According to Public Utilities Code § 12808.5, no district may locate or construct, any
lines, for the transmission or distribution of electrical energy, including poles and other
accessory structures, with the exception of electrical distribution lines of less than 100,000
volts, unless such facilities are approved pursuant to the procedures set forth in this section.
Briefly,this section requires, a district to hold a public hearing on the proposed facilities and
then submit any proposal for facilities to the legislative body of each local agency for
approval, which would be the Town of Truckee or Nevada County Board of Supervisors,
depending on the location of the facilities. Then the legislative body would hold a public
hearing and approve or reject the plan based on its consistency with the general plan and
applicable redevelopment and specified plans, in addition to other concerns. If a district
opposes the legislative body's finding,a mechanism exists for challenging that determination.
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This provision would give the Town of Truckee the ability to require the District to
underground its facilities pursuant to its approval procedures. However, the Town of
Truckee could not exercise this ability unless it had adopted an ordinance setting forth
criteria to require the District to submit its proposal for approval. If this becomes an issue,
we should investigate whether the Town has adopted any such procedure and the nature of
the procedure.
Conclusion:
May the Town of Truckee require the District to underground the following facilities:
FACILITY Building Zoning
`YPE Ordinance Ordinance
WATER
Production No No
Generation No No
Storage No No
Transmission No No
ELECTRIC
Production No No
Generation No No
Substations No
that receive at
less that
100,000 volts
Storage No Yes*+
Transmission No Yes*+
Distribution Maybe TMayb e +
*Provided that such zoning ordinances apply to such facilities
+Unless location or construction of facilities is currently subject to a public hearing and
Town of Truckee approval procedure