Petition circulates to move Orlando neighborhood's power lines underground

ORLANDO, Fla. — Residents of an Orlando neighborhood are circulating a petition to have their power lines moved underground.

Residents of the Lake Lawsona Historic District are attempting to get more than 500 homes in the area to have their power lines buried.

"When I think about how beautiful this neighborhood is, there's one thing that's missing. That they have these power lines everywhere," said Brian Spear, who lives in the area.

He’s spearheading the initiative to move the power lines underground, knocking on doors to amass signatures for the petition.

Supporters of the petition say they look better, protect trees and improve safety—saying there will be fewer power outages during storms.

Spear said he's gotten 100 signatures so far. He admits that the project won’t be cheap.

The Orlando Utility Co. said it would have to complete a feasibility study first, but the utility said relocating the power lines could cost each resident thousands, if not tens of thousands, of dollars.

"I'm 100 percent for it, I don't know about my neighbors with their ability to pay but for me I think it would be a great ideas," said Blake Ringholz, homeowner.

But such an initiative isn’t unprecedented. The city of Winter Park bought its power lines in 2005 and started an effort to bury them, planning to spend about $3.5 million annually for a decade.

The Lake Lawsona Historic District is much smaller and Spear said he’s already working on garnering support from city leaders.

The petition can be found online here.

Cox Media Group