[l2ridehd]

The best solution is to provide them the access they really need while being able to hide the utility box from view. 5 or 6 feet in the front allows them to open the panels and access everything inside the box. Should the problem be greater than 3 feet around allows them to remove all the covers. And they should never need to dig unless your box is hit by lightening, but should that happen they will bring in a backhoe and remove your shrubs and dig. The space requirements they want is so they don't damage shrubs if digging. Otherwise for 99% of what they need, it's a bit of an overkill.