No certificate of occupancy for new buildings or structures shall be issued unless or until all existing and proposed electrical lines of thirty-five thousand volts or less and overhead service drop conductors, and all gas, telephone, television cable service, and similar service wires or lines, which are on-site, abutting, and/or transecting, are installed underground unless specific restrictions are shown in General Orders 95 and 128 of the California Public Utilities Commission, and service requirements published by the utilities.
(Ord. 1124 § 1, 1981; Ord. 1306 § 1, 1988; Ord. 1316 § 1, 1988)
(a) 
Utility lines of less than 35 kV and overhead service drop conductor(s), including all lines on site, abutting and transecting shall be placed underground when existing buildings or structures are remodeled or expanded where the modification increases the building footprint (exclusive of porches and patios) of an existing structure by more than 10 percent for multifamily, commercial and industrial uses and by more than 40 percent for single-family use unless undergrounding is deferred pursuant hereto. Deferral may be permitted by the city engineer under the following circumstances: (1) if the length of line to be undergrounded is less than 300 lineal feet; or (2) if the cost of undergrounding would be excessive in comparison to the value of the improvements being constructed and be a financial hardship; or (3) if there are alternative methods of accomplishing the under-grounding; or (4) there is limited public benefit to the undergrounding.
(b) 
The overhead service drop conductors shall be placed underground when existing buildings or structures are repaired, remodeled or expanded where the value (as determined for building permit fee purposes by the building code of the city) of such repairs or remodeling or expansion in any calendar year exceeds the assessed valuation of the building or structure, or the amount of $20,000.00 whichever is less. The undergrounding of utilities may be waived or deferred by the planning director under the following circumstances: (1) if the cost of undergrounding would be excessive in comparison to the value of the improvements being constructed and be a financial hardship; or (2) if there are alternative methods of accomplishing the undergrounding; or (3) there is limited public benefit to the undergrounding.
(c) 
Wherever in this section deferral of undergrounding is approved, a covenant shall be recorded, running with the land and setting forth the circumstances under which undergrounding shall be required and giving enforcement rights to the city. Among other provisions the covenant shall provide that the covenantor shall waive any right to protest the establishment of any undergrounding assessment district or other area-wide method of funding such undergrounding including any obligation to reimburse other parties for their respective share of such undergrounding cost. The city shall retain the right to underground such utilities and to receive from covenantor their respective share of such cost, and to establish a lien against the property should covenantor not pay such funds following reasonable notice.
(Ord. 1124 § 1, 1981; Ord. 1306 § 2, 1988; Ord. 1316 § 2, 1988; Ord. 1518 § 1, 1995; Ord. 2031 § 9, 2020; Ord. 2088, 11/9/2023)
The developer and owner are jointly and severally responsible for complying with the requirements of this chapter and shall make the necessary arrangements with the utility companies to have such facilities, and/or equipment, properly indicated on a site plan to be submitted with the street improvement plans.
(Ord. 1124 § 1, 1981)
For the purpose of this chapter, appurtenances and associated equipment, such as, but not limited to, transformers and terminal boxes, shall be installed underground, except in those instances where surface-mounted transformers or pedestal-mounted terminal boxes or meter cabinets, concealed ducts, or similar appurtenances are specifically permitted in aboveground locations as approved by both the city and the utility company.
(Ord. 1124 § 1, 1981; Ord. 1306 § 3, 1988; Ord. 1316 § 3, 1988)
Risers on poles and buildings are permitted on single lot developments and shall be provided by the developer or owner on the existing pole which services said property. In no such case shall a new pole be installed, unless a hardship exists, in which case, the director of community development, or his representative, may waive this requirement.
(Ord. 1124 § 1, 1981)
The decision of the director of community development is appealable to the planning commission.
(Ord. 1124 § 1, 1981)