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SR-512-001-01 EPWM:CP:AA:RS s:SP1821\cc1821.doc Santa Monica, California Council Meeting: February 8, 2000 TO: Mayor and City Council FROM: City Staff SUBJECT: Recommendation to Conceptually Approve a Proposed Ten-Year Plan to Move Selected Electric Facilities Underground Introduction This report recommends that the City Council conceptually approve a ten-year plan to move selected electric facilities underground as described below. This plan is based on the availability of Southern California Edisons annual allocation of funds and the eligibility = requirements under the California Public Utilities Commission (Cal. PUC) Rule 20. Background In accordance with the 1972 State Public Utility Commission Rules 20-A and 20-B (amended in 1989), Southern California Edison sets aside a portion of its annual undergrounding budget to move Santa Monica electric utility lines underground. Santa Monicas portion is determined by a formula based on the number of overhead meters and = total meters in the City. The City has participated in the Cal. PUC program since 1976. Over the past 23 years, the City has undergrounded electric utilities on the following streets (see Exhibit A): thth Broadway from 26 Street to 20 Street $ thth Arizona from 20 Street to 6 Court $ 1 Pacific Coast Highway from northern City limits to the Pier $ Colorado Avenue from Harvard to Lincoln Boulevard $ thth 5 and 6 Courts between Wilshire and Colorado $ nd 2 Street between Wilshire and Colorado $ thth Olympic Boulevard from 11 Street to 5 Street $ along the Santa Monica Freeway on and off ramps to Lincoln Blvd. $ th 14 Street from Ashland to Marine Streets $ Marine Street from Robson to Frederick Streets $ Main Street utilities from Pico Boulevard to Hollister are scheduled to be undergrounded between March and December 2000. Once utilities are undergrounded, the City is committed by Ordinance to prevent any further above-ground utilities to exist in the area. Discussion In developing the ten-year undergrounding plan, all overhead utilities in the City were evaluated against PUC?s ?general public interest? funding criteria?. Rule 20 states that undergrounding serves the public interest when: ? Such undergrounding will eliminate an unusually heavy concentration of overhead electric lines; ? The street carries a heavy volume of pedestrian or vehicular traffic; and 2 ? The street passes by a civic, public recreation or scenic area. Staff created a utility undergrounding point system based on these criteria, explained in more detail below. Undergrounding Point System ?General interest? criteria are broken into sub-categories based on typical scenarios within the City. For example, in order to eliminate a ?heavy concentration of overhead electric lines", staff would also need to evaluate high-voltage lines and building height (sub- categories in the point system). Each of these sub-categories is assigned a point designation, with higher points given to scenarios that are significantly detrimental to the ?general public interest?. A more detailed explanation of the point system is below. 1. Main Category:Heavy concentration of overhead lines Transmission lines 15 points Six or more wires on distribution 10 points Distribution lines 5 points Cal PUCs and Edisons primary criterion for evaluating eligibility of streets for == undergrounding is a heavy concentration of overhead lines. Transmission poles carry the greater number of electric lines, while distribution poles typically carry fewer. 1.a. Sub-Category: Double set of poles on street 13 points Some streets have both transmission poles and distribution poles. The poles may be on opposite sides of the street, or the lines may be attached to the same poles. For the total 3 13 points, there must be two sets of poles and lines visible to residents and travelers. 1.b. Sub-Category: High voltage lines 10 points Exposure to high voltage lines may pose a greater threat to a persons health and welfare = than exposure to lower voltage lines. Transmission lines carry up to 66kV circuits; distribution lines vary from 1-16kV circuits, significantly less than transmission lines. The presence of transmission lines would result in 10 points awarded. 1.c. Sub-Category: Exceeds building heights in the area 5 points Poles and wires that tower over the buildings and the trees next to them are visible to the public from great distances, giving the impression that they are ?everywhere". Locations with transmission poles 30 feet and greater in height would be awarded 5 points. 1.d. Sub-Category: Interferes with views 5 points Some poles and lines are located in such a place that they become the primary focus of attention. In particular, transmission poles located in a bank of residential units or along the foothills become the prominent landscape feature to multi-story building and hillside residents. These locations would be awarded 5 points. 2. Main Category:Heavy pedestrian and/or vehicular traffic 20,000 ADT or more 15 points 19,000 to 10,000 10 points Less than 10,000 5 points 4 Using the Master Environmental Assessment map of Average Daily Traffic to determine traffic counts on the larger City streets on a daily basis, the greater the traffic, pedestrian or vehicular, the greater the weight given in the undergrounding selection process. The greater the number of people who see the lines, the more important that they be undergrounded. 2.a. Sub-Category: Street Use Designation Arterial Streets 15 points Collector Streets 10 points Local/Feeder Streets 5 points Staff used the Santa Monica Land Use and Circulation Element (1998) to determine designated street usage. Streets classified in the Element as ?arterial have been @ designated as primary thoroughfares through the City and therefore carry more traffic and are visible to a greater number of people per day than local streets. ?Collector streets are @ intended to carry traffic between residential neighborhoods and commercial arterial streets. ?Feeder streets are similar to collector streets except that they carry traffic @ between residential streets exclusively. ?Local streets primarily service residential @ neighborhoods. 3. Main Category: Near schools, community centers, playgrounds 17 points Extra points were given to sites where people tend to congregate and can see the overhead lines. Streets near schools, shopping centers, community centers, parks, etc. garner extra points toward the total score. 5 4. Difficult to maintain 5 points Some poles are embedded in our community forest, particularly in the parkways. The trees are so thick in some places that equipment maintenance is difficult. In addition, Edison workers may cut away substantial portions of tree limbs to access the equipment, jeopardizing tree vitality. Selection Process Areas recommended for undergrounding were chosen using the point system described above. Of the 5,648 total poles in Santa Monica (Exhibits B and C), streets with transmission lines have higher scores than those with distribution lines because of the greater number of subcategories associated with transmission lines (see page 3). This reduces the number of eligible poles to 193, all of which are transmission poles (Exhibit C) on 11 streets. Given Southern California Edison's average annual allocation of $761,000, undergrounding all transmission poles would take 36 years. At an average cost of $890 per lineal foot to underground, staff selected an estimated 9,000 lineal feet to complete within the next 10 years (this is a rounded estimate given uncertainties about both the continued allocation amount and actual construction costs). This translates into 5 street sections. The proposed 10-year undergrounding schedule is outlined below (see Exhibit D for map of proposed area). The highest score obtainable is 100 points by any street. The high-scoring streets, and 6 those recommended for inclusion in the 10-year plan, have a point total of 63 or greater (see Exhibit E). The proposed plan would underground 48 of the 193 transmission poles. The category "Years" in the schedule refers to the placement in the 10-year plan. For example, years 1-2 for 20th Court means that this stretch of street will consume almost two years of allocations. Construction is likely to begin in the first year and continue through the second year, from 2000-2001. "Lineal Feet" refers to the approximate length of the area to be undergrounded. The proposed 10-year undergrounding schedule is as follows (see Exhibit D): Undergrounding Schedule Score Location Lineal Ft. Years* th 85 18 Court from Pico Boulevard to Pearl Street 1300 1-2 This road serves as a service and pedestrian thoroughfare for Santa Monica College. Many classrooms and the registration office are only a few yards away from two sets of power lines, transmission and distribution. By Cal. PUC Rule 20, both sets of lines should thth be undergrounded. Directly behind the row of houses on 18 Court is 20 Street, a collector street in the City. Twentieth Street deposits the college commuters from the 10 Freeway, which has a westbound on-ramp and an eastbound off-ramp to and from the Freeway. 7 Score Location Lineal Ft. Years nd 82 Olympic Blvd. from Stewart St. to 22 St. 3,200 2-6 This street carries the highest volume of traffic of all transmission line streets (26,000 ADT). This volume will increase when the Arboretum and Water Garden business parks are fully occupied (almost 2 million square feet of office space). The Citys Land Use and = Circulation Elements (1998) designates Olympic Boulevard as an arterial through Santa Monica, capable of carrying 34,000 to 61,000 vehicles per day. In addition, this location borders Bergamot Station, the Citys largest concentration of art galleries. Pedestrian = traffic is, at times, heavy. Score Location Lineal Ft. Years 80 Marine St. from Frederick Street to Lincoln Blvd. 1200 6-7 This location will complete the undergrounding of the transmission lines emanating from th the transmission substation located at 16 and Marine. Marine Street carries pedestrian th and vehicular traffic to and from Marine Park and the Day Care Center at 16 and Marine. There have also been complaints about obstructed views from numerous residents on and above Marine Street. The street is heavily wooded and utility poles line both sides of the street. Score Location Lineal Ft. Years th 72 20 St. from Pearl St. to Ocean Park Blvd. 1500 8-9 This street picks up the commuter traffic for Santa Monica College from the north and the 8 th south. 20 Street traverses the City from San Vicente Boulevard to Ocean Park Boulevard and connects to the Santa Monica freeway north of Pico Boulevard. Score Location Lineal Ft. Years th 63 18 St. from Ocean Park Blvd. to Ashland Place 1800 9-10 North and to 16th St. thth 20 Street traffic merges into 18 Street when the street ceases to exist south of Ocean Park Boulevard. This street and alley are flanked by two rows of power lines, transmission and distribution. By Cal. PUC and Edison rules, both sets of power lines should be undergrounded. The distribution lines run through the dense trees while the transmission lines tower above the street, clearly visible to all the hillside residents. Budget/Financial Impact There is no budget or financial impact to the City by approving this 10-year plan to move electric facilities underground. All costs are borne by Southern California Edison Company. If and when revenues increase from Edison, the City may select additional locations to underground utilities. Recommendation Staff recommends that City Council conceptually approve the 10-year plan to move electric facilities underground in the City as described in this report. Staff will return to City Council with specific resolutions to form assessment districts and set public hearings. 9 Attachments: Exhibit A - Previously Completed Undergrounding Exhibit B - Distribution Poles Exhibit C - Transmission Poles Exhibit D ? 10-Year Plan for Undergrounding Exhibit E ? Point Spread Table Prepared by: Craig Perkins, Director, Environmental and Public Works Mgmt. Anthony Antich, P.E., City Engineer Bill Buol, Civil Engineer Ruta Skirius, Senior Administrative Analyst Exhibit E POINT SPREAD TABLE Streets CriteriaTotal All transmission line streetsPoints 11a1b1c1d22a34 th 20 Court 15 13 10 5 5 10 10 17 - 85 Olympic Blvd. 15 -10 5 5 15 15 17 - 82 Marine Street 15 13 10 5 5 5 5 17 5 80 th 20 Street 15 - 10 5 - 10 10 17 5 72 th 18 Street 15 13 10 5 5 5 5 - 5 63 Nebraska (Stewart to Centin.) 15 13 10 5 - 5 5 - - 53 22nd (Olympic to Delaware) 15 13 10 5 - 5 5 - - 53 Delaware (22nd to 20th) 15 13 10 5 - 5 5 - - 53 19th Court (Michigan to Pico) 15 13 10 5 - 5 5 - - 53 Pearl St. (18th Ct. toCentinela) 15 13 10 5 5 5 5 - - 58 10 Michigan (19th Ct. to 11th St.) 15 13 10 5 - 5 5 - - 53 14th St. (Colorado to Pearl) 15 - 10 5 - 5 10 0 0 45 11