Solana Beach City Council members asked during their Sept. 25 meeting for more clarification about easements and more communication in general from San Diego Gas & Electric as the city proceeds with utility undergrounding.
The three districts are Pacific Avenue, Glenmont/Mar Vista/Marview, and Nardo/Granados/Rios.
The city “has been working to take a major step toward enhancing public safety and preserving its coastal views with the creation of Utility Undergrounding Districts, aimed at relocating overhead utility lines underground,” according to a city staff report.
“Staff has been working with the neighborhood coordinators on three separate utility underground districts, all west of Interstate 5,” the report said.
Council members voted to approve the boundaries for each district. Next steps include completing the design phases for each district, collecting construction bids and, once the costs are known, having residents in each district vote on whether to move forward.
The Pacific Avenue district was the first one underway and is currently furthest along in the process, according to the city.
The Glenmont/Mar Vista/Marview district requires new easements to accommodate issues such as undergrounding that needs to take place in areas that are not within public streets.
“Since these locations where transformers or overhead utility lines would be placed underground are not within public streets, the utility companies do not have pre-existing rights for undergrounding their utility lines,” according to the city staff report. “The overhead utility lines have easements for the overhead placement of the lines, but these easements do not extend the rights for underground placement of the utility lines. As such, new easements are required for the underground placement of the utility lines.”
The Nardo/Granados/Rios district similarly needs easements.
“Property owners will have the opportunity to know the costs that they will be required to pay prior to voting,” according to the city staff report. “Each district will have a separate vote for that district only, making each district independent of the others so that it will be possible for individual districts to move forward while others are under design and/or should one or more others do not move forward.”
Several residents spoke during public comment expressing concerns about easements that are more targeted, as opposed to easements that appear to include their entire properties.
“There’s got to be a way, people I’m sure have asked you before,” Solana Beach City Councilmember Kristi Becker said. “You probably have not gotten an easement under everybody’s entire home in all these easements, so if we can just tighten that up and get that done quickly, I think that would go a long way.”