Residents of a White Rock neighbourhood will be on their own if they want to relocate utility wires underground.
That was the message delivered last month to Parker Street resident Mike Armstrong, with the city announcing it would not be involved in such a project.
Armstrong told Peace Arch News this week that he and others on his block were "not happy dealing with the city" after a final response from staff March 16 that stated any undergrounding of wires would have to be "completely managed and funded by the residents."
"Even if we did want to go ahead, the city would not be involved at all," Armstrong said. "Not only would they not be involved, they wouldn't even help co-ordinate our efforts."
Armstrong first brought the issue to council in September after learning that his neighbourhood would be undergoing roadway improvements this year, and told city officials there would be cost-savings in moving the utility wires while the roadway was already dug up.
In November, the city sent out an informal petition to residents of six streets in the area asking them to identify support or opposition to the project, with an estimated cost of $16,200 per property. The petition – which Armstrong maintained included an inflated cost estimate – was met with concern from some residents. The city released results from the petition in February that indicated an average of 61 per cent of residents on six separate streets opposed the project; the Community Charter requires 50 per cent plus one in support in order for such a resident-driven project to proceed.
White Rock's director of engineering and municipal operations confirmed to PAN last month that the city's involvement in the proposed project was determined by the petition results.
"Based on public feedback, we will not be proceeding," St. Louis said.
Armstrong said it was "bizarre" that the city wasn't on board with the effort to beautify the neighbourhood, which he said was identified as one of the top priorities by participants at an Official Community Plan workshop he participated last fall.
With the roadwork set to take place this year, Armstrong said he doubted the opportunity to relocate the wires conveniently would come up again in the near future.
"It's very unlikely in our lifetime that anyone will co-ordinate the undergrounding of wires," he said.