4. BURYING OVERHEAD POWER LINES

ENSOUILLAGE DES LIGNES AÉRIENNES D’ÉLECTRICITÉ

Committee recommendations

That Council:

1. Direct staff to develop a formal policy, guided by the objectives set out in the City’s Official Plan, that establishes criteria and priority for the burial of:

a. Existing overhead power lines within the City; and

b. New power lines on the City’s roadways.

2. Direct staff to conduct public consultations as part of the development of the policy described in Recommendation 1, and

3. Direct staff to work with both Hydro Ottawa and Hydro One to identify funding models for any incremental costs associated with Recommendation 1 above, including contributions from the electricity companies, project requestors, the municipality, and other sources.

Recommandations DU Comité

Que le Conseil ce qui suit :

1. Ordonne au personnel d’élaborer une politique officielle, orientée par les objectifs définis dans le Plan officiel de la Ville, lequel établit les critères et la priorité de l’ensouillage :

a. des lignes aériennes d’électricité existantes dans la ville;

b. de nouvelles lignes électriques dans les chaussées de la ville.

2. Ordonne au personnel de mener des consultations publiques dans le cadre de l’élaboration de la politique décrite à la recommandation 1, et

3. Ordonne au personnel de travailler avec Hydro Ottawa et Hydro One sur la désignation de modèles de financement pour les coûts différentiels associés à la recommandation 1 ci‑dessus, y compris les contributions des compagnies d’électricité, des demandeurs de projet, de la municipalité et d’autres sources.

Documentation

1. Deputy City Manager’s report, Infrastructure Services and Community Sustainability dated 15 September 2009 (ACS2009-ICS-CSS-0033).

2. Extract of Draft Minutes, 22 September 2009.

Report to/Rapport au:

Planning and Environment Committee

Comité de l'urbanisme et de l'environnement

and Council / et au Conseil

15 September 2009 / le 15 septembre 2009

Submitted by/Soumis par: Nancy Schepers, Deputy City Manager/

Directrice municipale adjointe,

Infrastructure Services and Community Sustainability/Services d’infrastructure et Viabilité des collectivités

Contact/Personne-ressource: Michael Murr, Acting Director/Directeur intérimaire, Community and Sustainability Services/Services de viabilité et des collectivités

(613) 580-2424, 25195 michael.murr@ottawa.ca

City Wide/à l'échelle de la Ville

Ref N°: ACS2009-ICS-CSS-0033

SUBJECT:

BURYING OVERHEAD POWER LINES

OBJET :

ENSOUILLAGE DES LIGNES AÉRIENNES D’ÉLECTRICITÉ

REPORT RECOMMENDATIONS

That Planning and Environment Committee recommend that Council:

1. Direct staff to develop a formal policy, guided by the objectives set out in the City’s Official Plan, that establishes criteria and priority for the burial of:

a. Existing overhead power lines within the City; and

b. New power lines on the City’s roadways.

2. Direct staff to conduct public consultations as part of the development of the policy described in Recommendation 1, and

RECOMMANDATIONS DU RAPPORT

Que le Comité de l'urbanisme et de l'environnement recommande au Conseil ce qui suit :

1. Ordonner au personnel d’élaborer une politique officielle, orientée par les objectifs définis dans le Plan officiel de la Ville, lequel établit les critères et la priorité de l’ensouillage :

a. des lignes aériennes d’électricité existantes dans la ville;

b. de nouvelles lignes électriques dans les chaussées de la ville.

2. Ordonner au personnel de mener des consultations publiques dans le cadre de l’élaboration de la politique décrite à la recommandation 1, et

3. Ordonner au personnel de travailler avec Hydro Ottawa et Hydro One sur la désignation de modèles de financement pour les coûts différentiels associés à la recommandation 1 ci‑dessus, y compris les contributions des compagnies d’électricité, des demandeurs de projet, de la municipalité et d’autres sources.

EXECUTIVE SUMMARY

Assumptions and Analysis:

Burying power lines is a complex issue. Requests for the burial of existing overhead power lines generally relate to either aesthetic concerns, or the development of properties that have power lines in close proximity. In a number of cases, the implementation of strategic directions to carry out intensification and smart growth have been constrained by the costs and complexities associated with the burial of power lines.

Burying the power lines is traditionally very expensive for municipalities, electrical service providers, developers, and telecommunication companies. The cost of burying existing overhead electrical systems can range anywhere from four to ten times more than rebuilding an overhead system.

Current funding mechanisms available to the City and Hydro Ottawa through which underground conversions and installations can be done are limited. Current agreements between the City and Developers only include a requirement to bury power lines in new residential subdivisions. All other areas including Traditional Mainstreets, collector roadways, and other City roads are not covered by agreements for the burial of power lines.

The cost to bury power lines are often greater than individual project proponents are able to absorb, and funding of such projects by the municipality or utilities could exert significant upward pressure on property taxes or hydro rates, due to the large number of project requests and the very high costs involved. However, the experience of the former City of Ottawa suggests that a more narrowly focused program with clear criteria, objectives and funding models could likely assist with the achievement of Official Plan objectives, particularly with respect to intensification.

Council directed staff to examine the feasibility and funding options for burying power lines, and also referred a specific project for consideration as part of this report. The results of staff’s actions to address the original motion have led to this report recommending the development a policy to formalize related matters of burying power lines in addition to examining funding models.

Legal/Risk Management Implications:

There are no legal/risk management impediments to implementing the recommendations in this report.

Financial Implications:

Development of this policy requires resources for hiring external expertise on best practices, studies, and consultations at an estimated cost of $100,000.

Hydro Ottawa has agreed to contribute $50,000 towards the costs of the project, and to work closely with City staff to develop the policy. Funding for the City’s $50,000 share is available within the Community Sustainability and Planning and Growth Management Department budgets.

Public Consultation/Input:

Consultations with stakeholders will be a key success factor in the development of the policy as discussed in this report. Utilities such as cable and telecommunications often have pole attachment agreements for their respective line requirements. These Service Providers will be included in the focus group consultation process, in addition to the Business Improvement Areas, Community Associations, Developers, Utility Industry Experts, National Capital Commission and the general public.

SOMMAIRE

Hypothèses et analyses:

L'ensouillage des lignes électriques n'est pas chose aisée. Les demandes d'ensouillage des lignes aériennes d’électricité existantes répondent généralement à des préoccupations d'ordre esthétique ou à l'aménagement de biens à proximité immédiate de lignes électriques. Dans la plupart des cas, la mise en œuvre d'orientations stratégiques visant à établir un renforcement et une croissance intelligente se heurte aux frais et à la complexité liés à l'ensouillage des lignes électriques.

L'ensouillage des lignes électriques est traditionnellement très couteux pour les municipalités, les compagnies d'électricité, les développeurs et les entreprises de télécommunications. Les frais d'ensouillage des systèmes électriques aériens existants peuvent être entre quatre et dix fois plus élevés que ceux liés à leur remise en état.

La Ville et Hydro Ottawa ne disposent actuellement que de mécanismes de financement limités pour réaliser des conversions et des installations souterraines. Les conventions actuelles entre la Ville et les développeurs ne rendent l'ensouillage des lignes électriques obligatoire dans les nouveaux lotissements résidentiels. Toutes les autres zones, y compris les rues principales traditionnelles, les artères collectrices et les autres routes de la ville ne sont pas concernées par les ententes relatives à l'ensouillage des lignes électriques.

Les frais liés à l'ensouillage des lignes électriques sont souvent trop importants pour pouvoir être pris en charge par les promoteurs. Par conséquent, le financement de ces projets par la municipalité ou les services publics pourrait occasionner de fortes pressions exercées en vue d'augmenter les impôts fonciers ou les tarifs d'électricité, et ce, en raison des nombreuses demandes de projet et des frais importants qui y sont associés. Cependant, l'expérience vécue par l’ancienne Ville d’Ottawa nous enseigne qu'un programme plus ciblé comprenant des critères, des objectifs, et des modes de financement clairement établis pourrait aider à atteindre les objectifs fixés par le Plan officiel, notamment en ce qui concerne le renforcement.

Le Conseil a ordonne au personnel d'examiner la faisabilité et les modes de financement relativement à l'ensouillage des lignes d’électricité et a aussi soumis un projet particulier aux fins d’étude dans le cadre de ce rapport. Les résultats des mesures prises par le personnel en vue de traiter la motion originale ont abouti à la recommandation figurant dans ce rapport, soit l'élaboration d'une politique visant à officialiser tous les sujets traitant de l'ensouillage des lignes d’électricité et l'examen des modes de financement.

Incidences juridiques/concernant la gestion des risques :

Aucun obstacle juridique ou lié à la gestion des risques n’empêche l’application des recommandations faites dans le présent rapport.

Incidences financiers:

L’élaboration de cette politique exige des ressources financières d’un montant estimé à 100 000 $, en vue d’embaucher des experts externes spécialisés sur la question des pratiques exemplaires, des études et des consultations.

Hydro Ottawa a accepté de contribuer un montant de 50 000 $ au financement du projet et de travailler étroitement avec le personnel de la Ville en vue d’élaborer ladite politique. La part du financement de la Ville, d’un montant de 50 000 $, proviendra des budgets du Service de viabilité des collectivités et du Service de l’urbanisme et de la gestion de la croissance.

Consultation publique et suggestions

Comme il est mentionné dans le présent rapport, les consultations avec les intervenants constitueront un élément clé de la réussite dans l'élaboration de la politique. Les entreprises de services publics, tels que les fournisseurs de câble et de télécommunications, ont souvent des accords d'utilisation des poteaux pour répondre à leurs propres besoins en matière de lignes. Ces fournisseurs de services, ainsi que les zones d'amélioration commerciale, les associations communautaires, les développeurs, les experts en services publics, la Commission de la capitale nationale et le grand public seront inclus dans le processus des groupes de consultation.

BACKGROUND

Overview

A policy to bury power lines should take into account three main perspectives – affordability, technical feasibility, and desirability. Cost is often the most prominent consideration, as burying power lines is extremely expensive for municipalities and electrical service providers, and can result in significant costs to abutting property owners and third parties such as developers and telecommunication companies as well. However, there may be constraints on technical feasibility in some cases, and the high costs suggest a need for careful analysis of where the burial of power lines is most important, leading to clear criteria and priorities.

The cost of burying existing overhead electrical systems can range anywhere from four to 10 times more than rebuilding an overhead system. Moreover, the funding mechanisms through which underground conversions and installations can be done are limited, and for those that do exist, it is important not to inhibit or delay development. Currently, burial of overhead power lines is only funded at the expense of the requesting developer.

The City of Ottawa is not the only municipality dealing with the issue of burial of power lines. The issue has been and continues to be reviewed across Canada, United States, and Australia. Council has directed staff to examine the feasibility and funding options for constructing Hydro lines underground on both collector roadways in new developments and existing areas that require electrical service upgrades.

The former City of Ottawa abandoned an Underground Wiring Program in 1993, under which costs were shared among the City, the Regional Municipality of Ottawa-Carleton, the National Capital Commission, utility providers, and the project requestor or beneficiaries. Only projects on streets where poles needed to be removed for road safety reasons continued into 1994. Other former municipal power utilities in Nepean, Gloucester, and Kanata charged the Developers 100 per cent of all installation costs including burial costs. These standards and costing arrangements continued up to local amalgamation in 2000.

The former City of Ottawa’s program for the burial of overhead power lines operated intermittently over a period of close to 30 years, and was able to achieve a number of high priority projects, including the burial of power lines in Centretown and the By Ward Market. The scope of the program was constrained by the high costs involved, with only the highest priority projects proceeding. The City of Ottawa discontinued the program in 1993 due to other funding priorities.

Presently, the City and Hydro Ottawa have no common funding mechanisms to bury existing overhead utility systems. The ability to seek funding to bury overhead power lines has become increasingly complex. With limited resources from the City, provincial governments and Hydro utilities, it is difficult to formalize effective funding sources. However, both Hydro Ottawa and the City share the objective of smart growth, and staff believe that a formal policy with clear criteria, priorities, and cost responsibilities can assist with the achievement of Official Plan objectives, particularly with respect to intensification.

The City has agreements for subdivision developments whereby the Developers are responsible for the burial of power lines in new residential subdivisions including associated new collector roadways. The Developers have cost sharing agreements directly with the power utility for the installation of power lines underground in the new residential subdivisions. Local developers install the ducts and transformer bases and pay Hydro Ottawa for all electrical installation. In return, the Developers receive a Net Present Value credit related to anticipated revenue to Hydro Ottawa from the new residential customers. This formula for cost allocation is as per an Ontario Energy Board formula.

A different approach is used for the burial of existing overhead infrastructure, in that the Developer (the requestor) pays the costs above and beyond the costs of the rebuilding the overhead infrastructure. This approach only applies to burial where there is existing end-of-life overhead infrastructure that would need to be replaced within the next 10 years. Other requests for underground lines follow the terms set out in the Hydro Ottawa Conditions of Service, which for the most part require the costs to be paid by the requestor.

Burial of power lines is further complicated when examining how the costs of adapting existing infrastructure to accommodate urban intensification should be covered. Power line burial does not fall under the Development Charges Act. Hydro Ottawa cannot collect development charges directly as it is no longer classified as a local board under the Act.

At the 14 November 2007 Council meeting, staff was directed, under Motion 24/1 to examine the feasibility and funding options of having Hydro lines constructed underground:

WHEREAS our communities should not be visually impacted by above ground Hydro lines;

AND WHEREAS the technology is available to provide underground Hydro service;

AND WHEREAS above ground lines are more susceptible to damage by adverse weather and other external factors;

AND WHEREAS already established communities are now becoming inconvenienced with the development of new above ground Hydro lines;

THEREFORE BE IT RESOLVED that City staff consult with Hydro Ottawa staff to examine the feasibility and funding options of having Hydro lines constructed underground on collector roadways in new developments and existing areas where service must be upgraded.

Actions to Date

In accordance with Council direction in Motion 24/1, the following actions have been undertaken to date:

· Hydro Ottawa staff developed a preliminary analysis in late 2008 of the current issues surrounding the burial of Hydro Ottawa overhead power lines in the City.

· City staff reviewed these documents and met with Hydro Ottawa staff in the winter of 2009 to review feasibility and funding options.

· City staff conducted an initial high-level review of other Canadian and international municipal best practices for burying power and utility lines. Results of the initial review suggest that the burial of power lines is an issue in other communities. A more comprehensive review is needed to determine broader policy issues for the burying of power lines in Ottawa on both existing collector roadways in new developments and existing areas where electrical service is in need of an upgrade.

DISCUSSION

Purpose of Report

The purpose of this report is to request and obtain Council’s direction to develop a policy that that establishes criteria and priority for the burial of existing overhead power lines within the City; and new power lines on the City’s roadways, and to examine funding models to support incremental costs associated with this activity.

Policy Complexities

There are a number of issues that must be taken into account when developing a policy for burying power lines. These issues include: Provincial Legislation, City Official Plan, City Design Guidelines, Burial Costs and Current Funding Sources.

Provincial Legislation, City Official Plan and City Design Guidelines

The City of Ottawa’s Official Plan must be consistent with the Provincial Policy Statement (PPS) issued under the Planning Act. The latest version of the PPS was issued in 2005 and introduces new requirements of municipalities in the area of growth management. Future population growth is to be accommodated first through intensification and redevelopment, and second, if necessary, through urban boundary expansions (PPS section 1.1.2). Municipalities must establish and implement minimum targets for intensification and redevelopment (s. 1.1.3.5), and phasing policies to ensure that those targets are achieved prior to, or concurrent with, new development within expansions of the urban boundary (s. 1.1.3.6).

In the Official Plan, the City has identified a minimum overall intensification target and has designated Intensification Target Areas to accommodate the projected intensification. Several of the target areas include Traditional and Arterial Mainstreets and Mixed-Use Centres, with existing overhead power lines and poles. Because of the type of development that is necessary to accommodate the intensification targets and fulfill the City’s Urban Design objectives, there are often safety issues with respect to setbacks from overhead power lines that affect the types of projects that meet the City’s goals of intensification and good urban design.

In keeping with provincial legislation and regulations, Hydro Ottawa requires a five-metre setback between new buildings and overhead lines. In many target areas, the setback is often impossible to provide given the smaller lot fabric found in older parts of the city, and the Official Plan’s urban design objectives that require new development to be close to the sidewalk to create or strengthen the pedestrian realm. This situation creates a perception in the industry that there are streets where development is either too complicated or not viable. In many cases, that perception is true. The City has already experienced several situations of desirable infill projects that have been delayed or cancelled, or whose costs have been significantly increased due to the standard setback requirements. In turn, this puts the intensification targets in jeopardy. As a matter of policy, the City aims to make intensification easier to achieve for the industry, not more difficult.

Hydro Ottawa’s Conditions of Service state the five-metre standard variance for distance between power lines and existing or future construction of buildings. This standard variance is based on Hydro Ottawa adhering to Electrical Safety Authority safety regulations subsection 75‑312(3) of the Electrical Safety Code, stating a minimum clearance of three metres plus required clearance for swing. Where the swing is unknown, a horizontal clearance of 4.8 metres is identified.

Therefore, in order to reconcile policy direction with Hydro Ottawa’s set back requirements, both of which have their foundation in Provincial Legislation, a strategic approach is required to allow the City, Hydro Ottawa, and Hydro One to meet their obligations in a practical and realistic manner.

The City has numerous street classifications, which are referenced in the Official Plan and City Design Guidelines. Over the past years, public requests for the burying overhead power lines to Council, staff, and the hydro companies have included most if not all types of City roadways. However, the City now has designated a number of streets and areas as Intensification Target Areas. These designations allow the City to establish a policy-based priority list for the burial of overhead power lines.

Burial Costs and Current Funding Sources

Current funding sources for burying power lines are limited and the costs are significant. The current funding sources in the Ottawa region are:

· Property Owners: Adjacent private properties with direct benefit from new underground power.

· Utility Providers: Utilities pay cost through rate increases. As outlined above, Hydro Ottawa currently contributes up to the cost of replacing overhead infrastructure for end-of- life assets due for replacement within 10 years.

· City Funding: The City pays the cost from the general tax base.

It is important to recognize that the cost for the burial of power lines extends beyond the costs for the hydro company to perform their work. In some cases, there can be significant costs to third parties. Additional project costs include, but are not limited to:

· City roadway and right-of-way excavating, rebuilds, new street lighting.

· Private property excavating and rebuilds from property line to property owner building(s), which are part of project costs and covered in accordance with the project funding source(s).

· Individual property owners’ costs for mandatory upgrades to existing wiring in private property buildings to meet current code requirements, as determined by the Electrical Safety Authority (especially in aging community areas).

· Costs to bury existing cable and telephone lines which are located on hydro utility poles.

· Impacts to other buried utilities including gas, water, sewer.

· Road disruption period.

Cost estimates for recent City projects identified significantly higher costs to move to underground lines compared to relocation of overhead lines, ranging from four to ten times more. For example, in 2007, Hydro Ottawa estimated construction on Abbott and Shea Roads at $5 million for underground lines and $1.2 million for overhead lines. In other examples, the cost to bury power lines is over 20 per cent of the total cost for road reconstruction projects. The Bank Street Phase 3 project was estimated at $8.5 million for City work, and an additional $2 million for relocating power lines to underground. Document 1 provides relative typical costs and cost ratios for various types of overhead and underground electrical infrastructure.

City projects will continue to be scheduled and delivered during the development of this policy. City construction projects are subject to the budget process and the infrastructure projects for 2010 will be proposed during the 2010 budget deliberations. Currently, there is no identified source for funding for the burial of overhead power lines. Therefore, until a policy is in place that identifies the priority areas and funding sources, staff are of the view that no City funding should be provided for the burial of power lines in the interim.

Property Owners Concurrence

There is a related issue of how decisions are made to proceed with an overhead to underground conversion project. If there are downstream costs to property owners to upgrade their electrical equipment or a requirement for cost sharing of burial of the power line into the owner’s property, they may object to the project moving forward.

Recent Issues

In accordance with Council direction in Motion 70/16, the request for funds for 164 Main Street was referred to staff for inclusion in this report, so that Committee and Council can consider this request within an overall policy context and approach during the interim.

It is common for the City to be involved with requests similar to the one above. Staff, Councillors, Hydro Ottawa, and Hydro One encounter frequent requests for burial of power lines from the public and developers. These requests arise from two primary considerations – concerns about the aesthetics of overhead power lines and hydro poles, and constraints on the development of certain properties due to the presence of overhead power lines, particularly in areas targeted for intensification.

Based on the current and anticipated requests for funding private development projects similar to 164 Main Street, staff do not recommend funding 164 Main Street. The policy which will be developed will address not only the long term City policy on the burial of electricity lines, but also individual requests which arise from situations such as 164 Main Street. Examples of other recent development proposals affected by power line clearance requirements are described in Document 2.

Research

Municipalities globally have investigated different ways to fund the burial of power lines. Generally, five options have been identified to cover the costs of burying existing overhead lines or constructing new underground lines. These options include:

1. The requestor (property owner, developer) pays the full cost of a buried installation, less the normal cost of building above ground.

2. The City pays all of the cost from the general tax base. In Ottawa, newer area homebuyers already pay for underground utilities through the Developer sale price.

3. The federal or provincial governments cover the cost – usually considered in heritage areas.

4. The utility provider pays, and adds the costs to its rates.

5. Composite funding solutions comprised of any or all of the above funding sources.

Based on preliminary research to date, the predominant practice in Canada is that the requestor pays the full cost of a buried installation, less the normal cost of building above ground.

Nationally, there are five municipalities with an official policy or by-law in place as of 2005 relating to burying power lines: Toronto, Winnipeg, Mississauga, New Westminster, and Gatineau.[1] As part of the development of the policy, staff will undertake an extensive analysis of how these municipalities have dealt with the complexities of burying power lines and the corresponding results of their work.

A 2005 Feasibility Study was completed for the City of Halifax. For all the scenarios analyzed, the costs to place utilities underground were four to 15 times that of the cost of constructing overhead lines.[2] The scenarios analyzed were a mix of downtown, commercial, urban, and suburban locations. Costs for constructing lines underground are variable and in most situations no one project can be compared to another project.

Timelines

The development of this policy is important to the City and needs to be managed effectively. It will address all past and future situations that warrant consideration for burying power lines.

The benefit of this policy will be to provide a process and an approach, where the complexities of burying power lines can be dealt with by City staff and the Hydro utilities in all situations. The project scope to develop this policy requires adequate time to examine, analyze, consult, and research current practices and standards for electrical infrastructure, and put forth an optimum recommended policy, which includes the following milestones:

Oct - Dec 2009:

§ Establish a project team, sponsors, and steering committee.

§ Develop a clear set of objectives to be used in forming and implementing the policy.

§ Determine governance structure and process to obtain incremental decisions in forming the policy.

§ Complete consultation and analysis of current Provincial legislation, regulations, safety policies, and any Hydro Ottawa and Hydro One agreements.

Jan – April 2010:

§ Complete Best Practices and Public Consultations.

§ Identify and further develop, where possible, funding models as set out in Recommendation 3.

§ Develop go forward concepts and practices.

May – Sept 2010:

§ Develop formal policy to address relevant outstanding issues.

§ Present status update to the Planning and Environmental Committee.

§ Deliver report to Council to approve Policy in September 2010.

Additional Resources

Due to the complex nature of developing this policy, additional external expertise will be required to complete tasks within this pre-established timetable. Specifically, funding will be required for expenditures on stakeholder communications, policy consultation, and business case analysis, where external industry expertise is required.

CONSULTATION

Consultations with external stakeholders will be a key success factor in the development of the policy. The implications to the public can be complex to fully understand, so it is vital to ensure sufficient education on burying power lines is made available, and opportunities to provide opinions and feedback are offered to both the general public and business communities.

Utilities such as cable and telecommunications often have pole attachment agreements for their respective line requirements. These Service Providers will be included in the focus group consultation process.

The following stakeholders will be invited to participate in public and focus group discussions:

· Business Improvement Associations (BIAs)

· Community Associations

· General Public

· Developers

· Utility Industry Experts

· Impacted Utilities

· National Capital Commission

LEGAL/RISK MANAGEMENT IMPLICATIONS

There are no legal/risk management impediments to implementing the recommendations in this report.

FINANCIAL IMPLICATIONS:

Development of this policy requires resources for hiring external expertise on best practices, studies, and consultations at an estimated cost of $100,000.

SUPPORTING DOCUMENTATION

Document 1 Ottawa Projects With Estimated Power Line Cost Comparisons and Relative Cost Ratios of Electrical Servicing Options

Document 2 Sample of Recent Development Proposals Affected By Power Line Clearance Requirements

DISPOSITION

Subject to approval of this report, staff will:

· Initiate the project working team and project plan to confirm scope, expectations, and parameters required to move the project forward.

· Examine current practices, and investigate gaps of any legislative or corporate inconsistencies between the current practices of the Province, City, Hydro Ottawa, and Hydro One specific to the burying overhead power and utility lines.

· Move forward with the development of a comprehensive Power Line Policy to address funding models and identifying priority areas for burying power lines.

EXAMPLES OF OTTAWA PROJECTS WITH ESTIMATED POWER

LINE COST COMPARISONS DOCUMENT 1

Examples of Ottawa Projects with Estimated Power Line Cost Comparisons

Areas of Construction

Overhead

Underground*

(+25% -/ -10%)

Abbott and Shea Road

Construct new 27kV line

$1,200,000

$5,000,000

Goulbourn Forced Realignment

Relocate overhead lines

$813,000

$4,600,000

Relative Cost Ratios of Electrical Servicing Options

Location	Type	Cost ratio/ (cost/m) magnitude**	Cost ratio/ (cost/m) magnitude**
Location	Type	Greenfield Urban	Urban Rebuild
Overhead	Traditional	1	1.5
	Modern (more vertical)	1	1.5
	Decorative	2	3
Underground	Light Underground Residential with above-ground pad-mounted equipment	5	6
	Underground Commercial with above-ground pad-mounted equipment	6	7
	All Underground	7	9

Notes:

* Costs include Hydro Ottawa work only.

Other utility work including third parties is typically estimated at an additional 25% of the total hydro construction cost.

Private property costs are not included.

** Ratios do not include costs associated with relocation of cable and telecommunications infrastructure, other utilities, street lighting, land rights and easements, customer electrical upgrades, heritage structures, reinstatement, excavation of rock, and environmental issues.

Ratios only include capital construction costs.

SAMPLE OF RECENT DEVELOPMENT PROPOSALS AFFECTED

BY POWER LINE CLEARANCE REQUIREMENTS DOCUMENT 2

Sample of Recent Development Proposals Affected By Power Line Clearance Requirements

80 Bolton Street:

Situation: 4-storey, 24-dwelling unit building.

Project was cancelled after two years due to the five-metre clearance requirement.

19 Melrose

Situation: Conversion of an old school to lofts.

An outdoor terrace on the top floor did not meet the five-metre clearance requirement.

Hydro poles were relocated at the developer's expense.

300 Powell Ave.

Situation: A major condo project at the corner of Bronson and Powell.

Hydro poles were relocated to the opposite side of the street at the developer’s expense. The project was then able to proceed; however, the facing side of Bronson is now constrained in terms of development because of the presence of overhead power lines.

560 and 594 Rideau Street

Situation: Two major mixed-use projects on one of City's major Traditional Mainstreets.

The Developer made an agreement to bury the power lines at their expense ($1.5 million) to defray these costs.

453 Bank Street

Situation: 224-unit condo project with retail space along Bank Street that incorporates a heritage façade. The heritage façade belongs to a building that has been in place for many years, and is exempt from the five-metre clearance requirement through a grandfather clause unless significant changes are made to the building. However, planned new construction on the site does not meet the five-metre clearance requirement.

The file remains unresolved.

300 Richmond Rd.

Situation: Zoning for the property for design of building

Redesign required to meet power line clearances, resulting in a reduction of gross floor area (GFA).

1080 Bank St.

Situation: Submission of Site Plan for building on site

The architect was asked to redesign the building to step back the second storey along Sunnyside to allow the five-metre clearance.

GFA lost was minimal in this case.

[1] Underground Utilities Feasibility Study for Halifax Regional Municipality, March 2005, Kinectrics Inc

[2] Underground Utilities Feasibility Study for Halifax Regional Municipality, March 2005, Kinectrics Inc