Tiburon takes step toward new undergrounding district

A group of property owners in Tiburon is a step closer to undergrounding utility lines in the neighborhood.

Residents in the area of Mar West Street, Las Lomas Lane and Esperanza Street are attempting to form a district that will allow them to bury power lines serving their homes. The town lifted an eight-year moratorium on such districts last year.

As part of the undergrounding district process, the town can determine the amount the property owners need to contribute toward design reports. For the proposed district, the town estimates these documents will cost around $165,760.

At its meeting on Wednesday night, the Town Council determined the homeowners must put forth a third of the cost, or roughly $55,000.

Homeowners will now have to circulate petitions to neighbors and raise the money before the town moves forward on the reports. Upon the council’s approval, the town would provide the rest of the money for the documents.

If the project is put out for bid, residents would vote on forming the district. If enough agree to the plan, the council would consider approving the district and awarding the bid.

The preliminary project cost estimate is more than $2.8 million. The town would use bond funding to create the district and be reimbursed once the district is formed. If the district fails at any point, the town would not be reimbursed for any of the funding it put into the project.

“We feel exceedingly confident,” said Erin Giacoppo, a neighborhood organizer. “We don’t have any doubt in this passing.”

Several residents of the proposed district came out to express their support for the project. One organizer said 30 of 39 households support the project thus far.

Advocates said burying the lines can improve the neighborhood’s appearance, improve public safety, lower fire risk and boost the reliability of services.

“Those wires are really an abomination,” said resident Bruce Owen. “This would make a very positive contribution, I think, but most certainly the major contribution to the city of Tiburon to have those wires gone.”

Because of the town’s previous moratorium, the council did not have a set policy on how much homeowners should pay for the design reports.

“I think we should be picking a percentage,” said Mayor Jon Welner.

Welner initially wanted the residents to contribute 50%. Councilmember Jack Ryan disagreed.

“I just want to remind everybody: Belvedere requires citizens to put up zero and they’ve only had one district fail,” said Ryan. “And they are 95% undergrounded. The policy works when the municipality contributes.”

The council settled on the one-third figure. The district proposal will return to the council once the residents have collected funding and circulated petitions.