Palm Springs neighborhood launches first-of-its-kind utility undergrounding project

A relatively new city ordinance is being put to its first test in one of Palm Springs’ oldest neighborhoods, with efforts formally kicking off this week.

Roughly three dozen residents of the Old Las Palmas neighborhood gathered Wednesday afternoon to start the next phase of a long-awaited utility undergrounding project. The milestone, nearly two years in the making, was enabled by a city ordinance passed in November 2024.

The project aims to remove over 100 unsightly overhead utility poles and the lines hanging from them in the historic neighborhood. It would represent the first application of the new ordinance allowing the formation of underground utility districts (UUDs) in established neighborhoods. Before the ordinance, residents had no codified process to collectively finance such improvements.

“Getting to this milestone has been a long time coming, a lot of work,” said Chuck Nourrcier, an Old Las Palmas resident coordinating the effort. “We had to get the city municipal code changed in order to support this.”

The ordinance creates a formal, city-approved process for residents to fund the undergrounding of overhead utility lines through special assessments. Property owners can pay upfront or over 20-25 years via bonds added to their property tax bills.

Diana Shay, a project manager with the City Engineering Department who drafted the ordinance and has been working with the neighbors for 18 months, stressed prior to the meeting that the city’s role is not to help fund the project but rather to help facilitate the process.

The City Council would oversee the UUD formation process by reviewing petitions, initiating the district if requirements are met, and directing the preparation of the engineer’s report.

With Old las Palmas neighbors taking the lead and other neighborhood organizations interested in a similar effort, it’s also hoped that lessons learned from the first effort can benefit others in the future.

“Once this one’s done, then it becomes more familiar,” Shay said of the process.

Jeff Cooper, a consultant with more than 35 years of experience running undergrounding projects throughout Southern California, has been hired to assist in the effort. He got his first look at the neighborhood before the kickoff meeting during a driving tour with Nourrcier, Shay, and others.

During the tour and as he addressed the afternoon gathering, Cooper noted that the neighborhood’s large lots and the placement of the utility poles would be a benefit when it came time to begin construction.

Aside from aesthetic improvements, Cooper said the undergrounding project would also improve public safety by reducing fire risk and enhancing resilience to earthquakes and winds, leading to fewer service disruptions.

Asked whether recent disastrous fires in the Los Angeles area – where attorneys are claiming exposed utility wires could be partially to blame – have spurred an interest in undergrounding utilities, Cooper said it’s not just the most recent fires but the state’s history that have people trying to mitigate risks.

“There has been quite an increase in interest during the last four to five years,” he said. “As fires have increased, the interest has also increased.”

Residents in other city neighborhoods, where undergrounding is being explored, definitely have fire safety in mind. But they also worry about affordability.

Cameron Saless, chair of the Racquet Club Estates Neighborhood Organization, attended Wednesday’s kickoff meeting in Old Las Palmas. He said undergrounding has become increasingly important for residents in windier parts of the city following the wind-whipped Southern California wildfires.

“With the recent wind-driven wildfires in the Los Angeles area, including the Altadena fire, which was started by power lines, this issue has taken on new urgency,” Saless said following the meeting. “Many neighborhoods — especially those facing regular high-wind events — are eager to see undergrounding efforts move more quickly to reduce fire risk and protect public safety.”

Saless noted that while the current ordinance provides a foundation, it places substantial organizational and financial burdens on individual neighborhoods. His organization is engaged in discussions with city leaders about potential adjustments to the ordinance.

Utility companies estimate that the costs of undergrounding existing overhead distribution infrastructure can range from $350 per foot to $1150 per foot. That cost does not include hooking a home up to the new underground infrastructure.

“Other cities have addressed this by having the city front the cost of initial scoping studies, recouping those funds through bonds once projects are approved,” Saless said. “This model helps streamline the process and promotes equity.”

In Old Las Palmas, Cooper said the next step will be a petition drive to secure resident support, likely beginning in a few months.

The petition process requires creating district boundaries and securing sufficient property owner approval before moving to the assessment phase. While 60% approval is needed, Cooper recommended aiming for 65-67% approval on petitions to ensure success.

“These projects get held up by trying to get property owners to sign on,” Cooper told attendees. “You have to get enough folks signed on.”

Once the petition phase is complete, the project will move to an engineering report detailing specific property benefits and costs. Property owners will then receive ballots where they can approve or reject the assessment.

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