Agenda Memo

City of Boulder City Council Agenda Item Meeting Date: February 12, 2026 Agenda Title Consideration of a motion to approve conveyance of a utility easement or similar land use agreement on, over, across and under certain City of Boulder open space lands to the Public Service Company of Colorado (dba Xcel Energy) to install and maintain subsurface electric lines via open trenching or boring pursuant to the disposal procedures of Article XII, Sections 175 and 177 of the City of Boulder Charter.

Staff Contact • •

Bethany Collins, Real Estate Services Sr. Manager, OSMP Dan Burke, Director, OSMP

Draft Motion Language Staff requests council consideration of this matter and action in the form of the following motion: Motion to approve conveyance of a utility easement or similar land use agreement on, over, across and under certain City of Boulder open space lands to the Public Service Company of Colorado (dba Xcel Energy) to install and maintain subsurface electric lines via open trenching or boring pursuant to the disposal procedures of Article XII, Sections 175 and 177 of the City of Boulder Charter.

Executive Summary This agenda item is the consideration of a request from the Public Service Company of Colorado (PSCo, dba Xcel Energy) for a utility easement or similar land use agreement on, over, across and under portions of the City-owned Open Space properties between Sunshine Canyon Drive and Boulder Canyon Drive as shown on Attachment A (Open Space and Mountain Parks (OSMP) property), which is managed by the OSMP department, to install and maintain subsurface electric lines via open trenching or boring. Xcel Energy (Xcel) currently holds an underground utility easement across the OSMP Property and operates two buried electric feeder lines which serve important public facilities such as the City’s Sunshine Hydroelectric Facility. The lines were installed in the early 1980’s and due to decreased reliability and recent outages of this critical infrastructure, Xcel and City staff have determined the feeders need to be replaced. Only one of the feeders is currently operable, thus creating a single-point of failure. Xcel is expediting design and due diligence work (including a cultural resource survey) in anticipation of replacing the lines prior to Summer 2026 when power loads will again create vulnerabilities. Because of required spacing between existing utilities; the size of the vaults required; and the need to keep the current feeder operational during replacement, the new feeders are anticipated to be located outside of the existing easement along portions of the corridor, necessitating conveyance of a new utility easement or land use agreement. After replacement, the old lines will be abandoned in place and Xcel will terminate the old easement rights. The new utility alignment will generally align with the existing easement corridor but requires design to utilize already-impacted areas and to mitigate environmental, resource, and visitor impacts and avoid existing utility infrastructure, including city water lines. While the final utility corridor will be 25’-wide, construction disturbance may be wider in places to perform trenching work and bury manhole vaults for future maintenance access. Authorizing uses or conveyance of open space land must be consistent with Article XII, Sections 175(a) and 177 which require Open Space Board of Trustees (OSBT) approval and recommendation to City Council and City Council approval.

Council Action Options Option

Outcome

Approve motion language as drafted

If the motion is approved will work with CAO to draft the applicable agreements

Define and adopt a modified motion

Council would need to define any modifications or amendments to the draft motion language for staff to consider implementing pursuant to the delegation in charter section 171. This could also require reconsideration by the Open Space Board of Trustees.

Deny the motion or take no action

If this motion is denied, the Xcel infrastructure will not be able to be replaced and the existing feeder lines will continue to be vulnerable to outages and failures.

Refer back to staff

If council refers this item back to staff, staff will consider council’s input and determine whether to bring the request back or pursue other alternatives.

Alignment with City Plans and City Council History Sustainability, Equity and Resilience (SER) Framework and Citywide Strategic Plan Alignment SER Framework Goal Area Safe and Environmentally Sustainable including providing high levels of service for water delivery, renewable energy generation and well-maintained and reliable public infrastructure. Citywide Strategic Plan N/A

Staff Notes N/A

Alignment with Additional City Plans N/A

City Council History N/A

Analysis The requested land rights will allow for replacement of failing electric feeders which are considered critical to residents and infrastructure within the city. As only one of the two existing feeders is operable, there is a single-point of failure that elevates the need for prompt rehabilitation. Typically, approximately 30% of the water for the community passes through the Sunshine Hydroelectric Facility campus, and reliable power supply is necessary to maintain levels of service. OSMP program staff have not expressed concern with the request and have not identified any sensitive or rare resources in the proposed alignment area. Anticipated visitor impacts will be mitigated via coordinated timing, detours, informational signage, and on-site personnel during the construction and cultural resource staff will be onsite during any ground disturbance to survey excavated areas.

Equity Analysis Staff has not identified equity impacts of concern associated with this disposal recommendation and it will ensure continued, reliable electric service to critical facilities and city residents and visitors.

Fiscal Note Xcel will bear all costs related to the new land rights and utility construction and maintenance, and no economic impacts to the city or open space program are anticipated.

Climate, Resilience, and Sustainability Considerations This project does not have significant climate or sustainability impacts.

Community Engagement A formal community engagement process was not necessary as the proposed utility corridor is located entirely on city-owned lands without impacts to private property and will be a replacement of existing utility feeder lines.

This item was presented to the Open Space Board of Trustees at their January 14, 2026 meeting. Jon Carroll moved the Open Space Board of Trustees to make a motion to approve and recommend that OSMP and City Council approve conveyance of a utility easement or similar land use agreement on, over, across and under certain City of Boulder open space lands to the Public Service Company of Colorado (dba Xcel Energy) to install and maintain subsurface electric lines via open trenching or boring pursuant to the disposal procedures of Article XII, Sections 175 and 177 of the City of Boulder Charter. Michelle Estrella seconded. This motion passed four to zero.

Workplan Considerations This project is not anticipated to materially impact city staff’s existing workplan.

Next Steps for City Council None anticipated.

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Attachments Attachment A: Vicinity Map Attachment B: Location Map