Key Biscayne Master Plan 043944000.18w_Key_Biscayne_MP(forJooMag) | Page 40

VILLAGE OF KEY BISCAYNE UNDERGROUNDING OF UTILITIES — MASTER PLAN
this area in some cases has been completely claimed by the adjacent
property owners with the installation of extensive landscaping, and other
such improvements. While the Village could legally reclaim this right-of-
way for their use, this is not considered an option as it would negatively
alter the visual aesthetic and character of the Village, not to mention create
tension between property owners and the Village. Therefore, installation of
new utility facilities must be in the public right-of-way when feasible, under
pavement, or in utility easement areas. 5.2.1
Typical residential properties not located directly on either the ocean or
Intracoastal Waterway generally have a 5-foot wide platted utility easement
in the rear or side of their property. Mashta Island and Cape Florida have
6-foot-wide platted easements. This easement is generally adjacent to an
identically sized easement on the neighboring property thereby creating an
effectively 10-foot and 12-foot-wide easement It is within this easement
where rear yard overhead utilities currently reside. Unfortunately, this rear
yard easement cannot be used for the new underground electrical and
communications facilities because the individual utility owners cannot
properly access or maintain infrastructure installed in these locations. For
these facilities to be converted underground, they must be relocated to
a front street location in the right-of-way or in an easement accessible
directly from the right-of-way. This does provide a benefit to the landowner
with a 5 or 6-foot easement on the rear or side of their property. If that
easement is no longer needed by any utilities after the conversion process
is complete, it may be abandoned and the property owner will gain back
that portion of land with no encumbrances that the easement once held.
5.2
Village of Key Biscayne
As discussed in Section 4 of this master plan, the Village is responsible for
the operation and maintenance of various types of infrastructure within the
Village. The design criteria presented below shall govern improvements
related specifically to undergrounding. Any impacts or improvements
to other infrastructure shall be governed by the design criteria already
established for those elements by the Village of Key Biscayne. A summary
of recommended specific undergrounding design criteria as it relates to
Village owned and operated infrastructure is summarized below.
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Village Owned Conduit
 Conduit to be installed for Village purposes should be HDPE or
PVC suitable for installation by either Horizontal Directional Drilling
(HDD) or open cut methods.
 To achieve cost savings related to joint trenching, conduit routes
for future communications should follow the routes of the conduit
being installed as part of the undergrounding program to the
greatest extent practical.
 Place pullboxes at junctions and at intervals sufficient to allow
pulling future cabling.
 Locate pullboxes in the road right-of-way, but off the roadway travel
surface to the greatest extent practical.
 Pullboxes should be provided with electronic markers and/or have
GPS data recorded for future locating purposes.
5.2.2
Village Street Lighting
The undergrounding project will impact a significant number of street lights
within the Village. The impacted street lights consist of those currently
mounted to overhead utility poles. When these poles are removed, the
street lights will be taken down with them. For this reason, these impacted
street lights will need to be replaced.
The Village is actively implementing a Village wide lighting program.
New street lights have already been installed on Harbor Drive and W.
Mashta Drive. Contracts are currently being finalized with a contractor for
installation of new street lighting down Fernwood Road. The approved
lighting fixtures within the west single-family neighborhood are a GE LED
post top light identified as Avery Streetdreams. Other areas of the Village
including the Crandon corridor, the multi-family neighborhood between
Galen and E. Enid, and Sonesta Drive use different distinct lighting. As
we move into a detailed design phase, specific types of lighting will be
determined for each area.
As shown on the impacted street lighting map on page 38, some areas
have no existing street lights or the spacing of the impacted lights is not
generally regular. This indicates the lighting levels within a particular area
are non-existent, may be less than a desired illumination level, or may