Starkville board adopts UDC amendment requiring buried utility lines for new development
STARKVILLE - The Starkville Board of Mayor and Aldermen approved a revision to the city's Unified Development Code requiring new development to bury certain utility lines, with one alderman raising concerns about the effect on housing costs.
At the board's regular meeting Aug. 5, 2026, aldermen approved the 15th revision to the city's Unified Development Code, which includes a new requirement that new residential, duplex and certain commercial development bury electric distribution and service lines underground. City planning staff said the rule excludes higher-voltage transmission lines and is intended to make the city more resilient to ice and wind storms.
During the meeting, Alderman Skinner raised concerns from constituents about the requirement. "I've had a couple calls in the last day or two on on the underground transmission lines and they're worried that by requiring that be when houses are built that that's going to push the price of housing up," Skinner said. The amendments passed.
The measure adds to the city's development regulations at a time when the cost of building new housing is under scrutiny. City staff presented the underground-line requirement as a storm-resilience measure, while Skinner's comments during the meeting pointed to constituent worry that the added construction requirement could raise the price of new homes. The board's approval of the amendment despite that concern reflects a broader tension between new regulatory mandates on development and their potential effect on housing affordability.