Building Near Utilities/Building 20x30

[michiganman18]

Well after getting the land surveyed, site plan together, required green space calculated, necessary property line setbacks and contractors ready to appear on site at beginnings of next week its all at a stand still.

I had been trying for over a month to get Conusmers Energy electric utility engineering out to check out the site plans. They finally got back to me. Despite no easements on the property, consumers apparently has a right of way that we have to leave access to, and apparently OSHA dictates that poles must have unobstructed access for 10 ft.

This knocks my garage plans down to 24 depth ft. Not to mention a guy wire that they refuse to move or shorten. Apparently guy wires are a small engineering marvel that have only a few degrees of possible space.

This guy wire that they refuse to move has to have a clearance of at least 1 ft between buildings foundation. That brings the depth down to 22ft. I already had to downsize my original plans due to green space, a requirment that says you have to have a specific ratio of permeable "green" items for every "non green" items (shingles, concrete, decks, gravel)

That is to say IF I can build at all because consumers has to have a way to get to their truck back to the pole.

Anyone run into similar issues of building near utilities in a metropolitan area?

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[NUTTSGT]

Doesn't matter where you live, the utilities and roadways will always get their right of ways. It seems the railroad has some broad spectrum also which I would consider it only second the Feds.

It's something that buyers need to take into consideration when buying property.


A few years back, AEP upgraded the power line along our property putting in 3 phase for a farmer down the road. I was hoping with new poles, they could eliminate a push pole or guy wire.

Unfortunately, no such luck, they merely redid what was there and actually made it worse. The Telephone Co's mushroom junction box in the ground is now 24" from the pole instead of being right beside it. However, I still stack my firewood up around the guy wire during the fall. They know it, see it and haven't said anything about it.

 

[wssix99]

Anyone run into similar issues of building near utilities in a metropolitan area?

No. I'm in Chicago and I have 12,000V lines so close I can reach out from my deck with a broom handle and have the experience to end a lifetime. I can also build right up to this pole and the utility cannot enter my property to place a guy wire. (They would have to drop a new pole if they needed to.)

When we do built like this, the POCO comes out and wraps the lines with rubber sheets in the event something were to accidentally touch them during construction.

So, I think your issues are specific to your locality and the general agreement they have with your county.

 

[hemiallen]

PG&E rule is 10' from a wire on a pole, ie the wires on their pole where I am building my shop has 8' arms the wires are on so the shop must be 4' + 10' from the pole's center. Theory is, if the line were to fall straight down, it needs 10' of clearance.I think this is also so if you are on your roof, you have 10' room to a wire.

In town, my Daughter was having a in ground pool built, and PG&E required them to move their line feed so anyone in the pool couldn't look straight up and have the wire above water. They are City, I am county.