Equipment Service Access – Would you correct this if you had to pay for it?

So, shown here are four under ground electrical services. In front of the four electrical services are four gas meters. In front of the four gas meters are two central cooling condensing units. In front of the cooling units are bushes. Would you correct these issues if you had to pay for it?

Some might not realize the consequences of crowding the equipment so close together. Most will not realize how expensive it is to properly correct all of these issues.

The minimum acceptable clearance in front of the electrical services is three feet. The minimum acceptable width would normally be 30" (elbow room), but in this case it would be the width of all four side by side electrical services, much wider than 30".

The gas utility gets final say on clearance and service access around their metering equipment. As a general rule, you would want at least 24" in front of the gas meters for service access and at least four feet away from any source of ignition. In case of a gas leak or venting discharge at the metering equipment, you do not want to have spark producing equipment placed next to the leaking gas meter.

The cooling units require service access and air flow to function properly. Most cooling unit manufactures require a minimum three feet of clearance for proper air flow. Often the units are placed too close together causing a loss of efficiency and in some cases premature failure. Vegetation too close to the cooling units blocks service access and reduces efficiency as well.

Yes, these issues are important. This equipment will need servicing from time to time over the life of the home. It is not safe to have spark producing equipment so near the gas meters. If this were my home, these issues would have already been corrected. Would you correct these issues if you had to pay for it?