Last Thursday about 100 people gathered at the Vallemar School to attend a presentation by the Vallemar Tree Working Group (VTWG) and the Vallemar Conservators. The meeting had two purposes. The primary purpose of the meeting was to share with the community the possible solutions to the issue of our century old palm trees and high voltage overhead wires. The second goal was to assess the community’s interest in a long term solution to get utilities underground, which would not only save trees, but also increase the reliability of power during winter storms, provide increased safety when wires are downed, reduce risk of fire from vegetation contact, reduce the cost of tree maintenance, and provide for a significant aesthetic improvement.
The solutions and recommendation were the result of several months of work with VTWG, PG&E and the city of Pacifica. In a nutshell, PG&E some 60 to 80 years ago, placed electric utility lines above the palm trees. The trees are now almost reaching the wires, creating a fire and electrocution hazard. Normally, the utility of company would remove the tree, but given the cost of replacing a mature Canary Island Palm, about $30,000, a number of us have worked closely with the company and the city to find alternate solutions.
The VTWG, after reviewing all the possible solutions for saving the palm trees, determined that the best longterm solution would be to place the utility lines underground, qualifying as a Rule 20B project. The endeavor made sense in all but one way; it is prohibitively expensive.
And so what started out as an attempt to keep PG&E from removing palm trees along Reina Del Mar Ave. has morphed into an effort to improve the Vallemar neighborhood by placing the overhead utility lines underground.
The California Public Utilities Commission provides three approaches to moving overhead utilities underground. They are known as Rule 20A, 20B and 20C. Rule 20A is the least costly to residents, primarily paid for by credits awarded to municipalities, and tends to take a very long time. The municipality (Pacifica City Council) will choose an area of town for undergrounding that will benefit the largest number of people.
Palmetto was designated as an underground utility district more than a decade ago, and that project has yet to break ground. Rule 20B projects are designated for the public good, and cover areas typically larger than a single city block; the cost of undergrounding is borne by the property owners; PG&E will remove overhead equipment and credit the value of the equipment against the cost of the project.
Finally, Rule 20C applies to projects that are smaller in size, typically less than a city block and do not qualify for 20A or 20B.
