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SR-6-C (116) - . L::f; '7 -ClOY ;Ii "" S'~ . 6.,c. A , J L- / OCT S 1991 GS:SES:undergr Council Meeting: October 8, 1991 Santa Monica, California TO: Mayor and city council FROM: city Staff SUBJECT: Resolution Setting a Public Hearing to Approve the Placement of Electric Power Lines Underground in Certain Areas of the city and Submit Them to utility Companies for Funding INTRODUCTION This report recommends that the city Council adopt a resolution setting a public hearing to approve areas of the city where the electric, telephone and cable TV lines must be placed underground. The areas recommended are; 1) Olympic Boulevard between Fifth Street and Eleventh street which includes the Lincoln Boulevard on and off ramps to the Santa Monica Freeway and the intersection of Llncoln and Olympic Boulevard westbound, and 2) Fourteenth Street between Pearl Street and Ocean Park Boulevard (see attachment A for details) . BACKGROUND California Public Utility regulation, Rule 20A Section 8209, specifies that each utility company must allocate two percent of gross revenue for use In placing facilities underground. The facilities include, electrical lines, telephone lines and/or cable TV lines. The regulations specify locations where facilities may be undergrounded using utility company funds. The regulations for determining undergrounding locations include satisfying one or more of the following: 1) those adjacent to a public use area such as a park, Civic Center or school, 2) on arterial streets used by the ~~'st64 '.,c. Q(,1 <) i~;j I ~ - -- ~ community at large, or 3) locations where there are unusually heavy concentrations of wires and adjacent to an electrical substation or other facility which causes significant interference with TV and radio reception in nearby residences. DISCUSSION . This program has been in place for approximately 16 years and prior areas that have been undergrounded are Arizona Avenue from sixth Street to Twentieth street, Pacific Coast Highway~ the Central Business District, and Marine and Sixteenth Street adjacent to Marine Park and the electrical substation at that location. The program has also included a small project in connection with the Fourth street on-ramp project. The Edison Company states that the City of Santa Monica can at this time designate a new project(s) for a cost of approximately $2.5 million. city policy has been to use the utility company funds to underground facilities on major streets and alleys, especially those serving large numbers of the public from throughout the City and on those streets bordering electrical substations. Policy also includes requiring property owners to pay for the portion of the cost which entails running underground service from the property line to the building electrical panel (and/or for a new panel if one is required) . The property owner portion of the cost is usually less than 5% of the total project cost. The Edison Company notified the City that on the two recommended projects there are 2 only 13 service connections to private properties which would be required to be placed underground by property owners. Nine of these service connections are to commercial sites and 6 are to residential properties. Locations in the city where property owners have requested that utilities be undergrounded by using the utility company funds are: Michigan Avenue-Lincoln Blvd. to 16th street (a minor residential street) 14th street-south of Ocean Park Blvd. (a dead-end street/not an arterial) Marine street-near Prospect to Lincoln (residential street) staff has determined that none of the above meet any of the before- mentioned regulations and thus do not qualify for funding. The Edison Company has confirmed that the criteria is not met at these locations. In addition, another project considered was Olympic Boulevard between 22nd street and 26th Street. Staff recommends this project be done by requiring developers contributions and by assessment district, at a later time, due to the large developments anticipated at this location. In approximately 4 years another project or projects can be designated. Because they are arterial streets used by the community at-large some future projects for use of utility funding may include: 14th street-Olympic to pico Olympic Boulevard-11th street to 22nd Street 3 - . , These suggested streets, for future improvement, are arterials and well traveled but do not pass by a public school or an entrance to the City. They will however nicely continue the current project before you tonight, if designated in approximately 4 years. CONCLUSION Staff has identified two projects which are recommended for Council approval and submittal to the utilities company for implementation. These areas are as follows: Olympic Blvd. from 5th to 11th streets This is a principal entrance to the City and is estimated to cost $910,000. The intersection of Lincoln and Olympic is one of the most traveled arterials of any in the city and is in the center of this proposed project. Fourteenth street-from Ocean Park Blvd. to Pearl st. This is an arterial street with an especially heavy concentration of power lines which passes by Will Rogers School. The estimated cost to underground these utilities is $1.6 million. FOllowing Council approval of this request, each project would be designed in 1991, work would begin in 1992 and the estimated completion date would be 1993. All trench and duct work will be contracted to a construction company by the Edison Company. Cable work would be done later by General Telephone, Edison and the cable T.V. company. 4 , BUDGET/FINANCIAL IMPACT The proposed undergrounding of utilities will be funded by the utility companies. There is no budget or financial impact to the City as a result of the formation of these underground utility areas. RECOMMENDATIONS It is recommended that the City Council, approve the Resolution setting a Public Hearing for October 29th, 1991 on requiring undergrounding the utilities on Olympic Boulevard from 5th to 11th Streets and on 14th Street from Ocean Park Boulevard to Pearl Street. Prepared by: Stanley Scholl, Director of General services Attachment: Map of Proposed Undergrounding Areas Resolution for Adoption 5 provisions have been treated as a ministerial function. To simpll.fy this situation, staff proposes that the extension ability at an administrative level be eliminated. Generally, discretionary permits involve more complex projects which may require longer periods of time to accomplish. To recognize such difficulties, it is proposed that the code be clarified to provide that in the case of discretionary permits, the original hearing body may extend the term of planning permits for an approved project on a one-time basis for not more than six months, application for which must be made at least three months in advance of the expiration date of the permit. The application to extend would be subject of a public hearing and noticed in the same manner as the original permit. Specific findings of circumstances unique to the project would be required to approve such an extension, including unusual delays in obtaining other required government approvals (this might include extraordinary delays at the Coastal commission, or at other State or federal agencies (affordable housing projects, among others, have been subject to unusual delays in obtaining required approvals at the state and federal level). Buildlna Permit Use Although not arising out of the Zoning Ordinance, an important issue is what level of construction activity is needed to keep a building permit valid. The Uniform Building Code provides that - 6 - .... . RESOLUTION NO. 8299 (CCS) (City council Series) A RESOLUTION OF THE CITY COUNCIL OF THE CITY OF SANTA MONICA CALLING A PUBLIC HEARING TO DETERMINE WHETHER PUBLIC NECESSITY, HEALTH, SAFETY, OR WELFARE REQUIRES THE FORMATION OF AN UNDERGROUND UTILITY DISTRICT ON OLYMPIC BOULEVARD FROM 5TH STREET TO 11TH STREET AND FOURTEENTH STREET FROM OCEAN PARK BOULEVARD TO PEARL STREET WHEREAS, Ordinance Number 773 (CCS) establishes a procedure for the creation of underground utility districts and requires as the lnitial step in such procedure the holding of a public hearing to ascertain whether public necessity, health, safety, or welfare requires the removal of poles, overhead wires and associated overhead structures and the underground installation of wires and facilitles for supplying electric, communication, or similar or associated service in any such district; and WHEREAS, it has been recommended that such an underground utility district, hereinafter called Distrlct, be formed on Olympic Boulevard from 5th Street to 11th Street and on Fourteenth Street from Ocean Park Boulevard to Pearl Street, NOW, THEREFORE, THE CITY COUNCIL OF THE CITY OF SANTA MONICA DOES RESOLVE AS FOLLOWS: SECTION 1. Notlce is hereby given that a public hearing wlll be held by the City Council of the city of Santa Monica on October 29, 1991 at the hour of 7:30 p.m. ln the city Council Chambers of the city Hall, Santa Monica, California, to ascertain whether the public necessity, health, safety or welfare requires the removal of poles, overhead wires and associated overhead structures and the underground installation of Wlres and facilities for supplying ~ . electric, communlcation, or slmilar or assoc1ated service in the Districts hereinabove described. SECTION 2. At such hearing all persons interested shall be given an opportunity to be heard. Said hearing may be cont1nued from time to time as may be determined by the city Council. SECTION 3. The city Clerk shall notify all affected property owners as shown on the last equalized assessment roll and utilities concerned of the time and place of such hearing by mailing a copy of this Resolution to such property owners and utilities concerned at least ten (10) days prior to the date thereof. SECTION 4. The area proposed to be included in the Districts 15 shown upon that certain map entitled Proposed Underground utility Districts, drawing number 4510, which is on file in the office of the City Clerk of the city of Santa Monica. SECTION 5. The City Clerk shall certify to the adoption of thlS Resolution, and thenceforth and thereafter the same shall be in full force and effect. APPROVED AS TO FORM: -. .-.-.'- . ~ ~. ROBERT M. MYERS City Attorney c ~ Adopted and approved this 8th day of October, 1991. r2 /'0'~.L Mayor I hereby certify that the foregoing Resolution No. 8299(CCS) was duly adopted by the city council of the city of Santa Monica at a meeting thereof held on October 8th, 1991 by the following Council vote: Ayes: Councilmembers: Genser, Holbrook, Katz, Olsen, Vazquez, Zane, Abdo Noes: Councilmembers: None Abstain: Councilmembers: None Absent: Councilmembers: None ATTEST: ~?,a~ ------ ~ city Clerk I