Arizona Public Service Co. v. Town of Paradise Valley

The majority holds that municipalities, the governmental units closest and most responsive to the varying needs of specific localities in the state, are without authority to require undergrounding of utility lines. This result is, in my view, unfortunate, and unwarranted by our statutes.

There can be no doubt that early Supreme Court cases typified by Phoenix Railway Co. of Arizona v. Lount, 21 Ariz. 289, 187 P. 933 (1920), and State v. Tucson Gas, Electric Light and Power Company, 15 Ariz. 294, 138 P. 781 (1914), held that the Corporation Commission was paramount in all matters affecting…