This sounds like a place to get some decent advice. The wife and I are wanting to put in a pool and we have a design that would work with the current easement in our backyard. We have a 16.5' utility easement from the fence. I would like to about 8' but could live with 5'of that easement back. We called 811 and they came out and marked the phone, gas, cable and electric. The cable is the furthest from the fence at about 6'. What is the process on getting a variance? Who do we have to talk to to get this? Any help would be appreciated.

It sounds like you're looking for a partial release of the dedicated public utility easement (PUE), not a variance. Contact the city, probably the engineering or public works department. They've likely had many similar requests in the past and have an established process (there may be a nominal fee). FWIW, 16.5' seems a bit much for a PUE. Absent a special situation, 7.5-10' should be plenty. HTH.

Thanks for the advice. The neighbors are doing the same thing so I told them what you suggested. So they talked to somebody with the city this afternoon. Hopefully they were able to get the right information. I am going to talk with them tomorrow.

Best of luck getting a release, but don't hold your breath. Utilities like to maintain separation from each other in the event they have to get in their to maintain their respective infrastructure. Gas company doesn't want to hit the phone line while excavating for their gas main, and vice versa. Plus, they will need room for equipment to work if that ever happens. I work for a utility, and our standard easement is 15' because you need room for an excavator to work and maneuver, spoils pile, etc. If you have all those utilities in one easement, it means it was probably platted that way, not conveyed to an individual user. In order for it to be released, every utility is going to have to agree to release it. I would be very surprised to hear they all agree to that.

I came across a post you placed back in 2016 with regard to easement variance. I have a similar situation where our house backs up to a green space. Our line furthest from the fence is at 8ft and we have a 16ft easement restriction. I live in Katy and would like to put a pool in. How did everything go for you and your neighbor? Who did you have to contact and did they grant y'all the variance and if so how many feet were you granted? Any help you have to offer I would really appreciate. Thank you