Suzy Archer and her family returned to their Noe Valley home last week from a trip to discover what they consider a blight, courtesy of Pacific Gas and Electric Co.
A new utility pole looms over the tree-dappled stretch of Diamond Street, noticeably taller than other poles there.
“We had no prior notice,” said Archer, 37, who worries that it could affect her property value. “I can’t believe they didn’t talk to us first before they did this.”
Archer said she recently filed a complaint, with photographs, to PG&E but has received only an automated acknowledgment.
“We don’t want this pole here, and we’re very upset,” she said. “If it has to stay, it needs to match the height of the others, like minimum.”
Archer is one of several residents rallying against the pole. Two of her neighbors have filed a lawsuit against PG&E, claiming the pole blocks their view of Twin Peaks and the Sutro Tower.
Benjamin Klein, 40, who works at Netflix, and Avishay Tal, 41, an associate professor at UC Berkeley, filed the complaint Friday in San Francisco Superior Court seeking damages and an order to remove or relocate the utility pole.
The lawsuit alleges PG&E and other unnamed defendants installed the pole directly on the plaintiffs’ property, rather than on the sidewalk.
“The senseless installation of this utility pole not only prohibits Plaintiffs from moving forward with plans to develop a driveway and two-car garage but also blocks Plaintiffs’ and others’ view of Twin Peaks,” the complaint states.
Klein said the pole was installed Sept. 4. “We didn’t get any notification by mail,” he said. “I went down, and all of a sudden, there was a pole.”
Looking around the neighborhood, he found that his home was the only one with a utility pole centered in front, rather than positioned between properties. It appears the crew that installed the pole may have considered an alternative location, as a second hole was dug nearby and later covered.
“When PG&E is coming and saying, ‘We need to do it for infrastructure support or security or safety,’ no argument there,” Klein said. “It’s just the question of, like, could you actually achieve the same result for PG&E without putting it in the middle of the house?”
Klein and Tal attempted to resolve the dispute informally, requesting that further work related to the installation be paused pending discussions, but PG&E refused to halt the work, according to the lawsuit.
The utility told the residents through their attorney that it must complete the installation before considering any relocation requests, which would require resident payment.
No electrical wiring has been connected to the pole. But “pole maintenance” is scheduled for Wednesday, according to permits approved by the Department of Public Works.
“This is an important infrastructure project that will increase safety and reliability, as well as provide additional capacity for electrification of the neighborhood, which helps meet our decarbonization goals,” said PG&E spokesperson Tamar Sarkissian, who declined to comment on the lawsuit.
A Diamond Street resident, Joseph Catalano, said he was surprised and disappointed by the installation of the pole.
“It had been our hope that PG&E was taking this opportunity to move some of this transmission underground,” Catalano, a 25-year resident, said Monday. “With the installation of that pole, it’s obvious they’re not going to remove it underground, and I think that’s unfortunate.”
He said the scenic views are one of the main advantages of living on that side of Diamond Street.
“If they had hoped to use a garage driveway where that pole is, it’s going to inhibit that,” he said. “Putting that pole 20 feet to the [side] is going to diminish their view certainly, and then there will be wires attached to it as well.”