Information on Undergrounding the Utilities in Manhattan Beach

**please not that some of the information below is several years old.  Information is from the city website but we cannot guarantee it’s accuracy.

Considering buying or selling in Manhattan Beach?  Utility wires and poles can have a major impact on values and views and for those areas that might be deciding whether to approve plans to underground, there might be significant costs.   The undergrounding push is a resident driven initiative and the city does not advocate for or against undergrounding.  Take a look at the Manhattan Beach undergrounding fact booklet for more information.

Some information from the booklet:

How many utility underground districts are there in Manhattan Beach?
As of January 2007, 15 districts had been proposed by residents in Manhattan Beach. Of these:
Seven have been approved by property owners and are in various stages of construction and residential conversion (Districts 1, 2, 3, 5, 6, 12 and 14).
Five are in the design planning stage and expect to be voted on by homeowners
in the next 1-2 years following completion of the plans needed for open
market bidding (Districts 8, 13,and 15).
Five have been dissolved due to lack of support among affected homeowners
based on the estimated cost of construction (Districts 4, 7, 9, 10, and 11)

Utility underground districts are initially proposed by one or more homeowners in a particular area who favor undergrounding. Simply speaking, it is a homeowner driven process rather than a City-wide directive. For a district to be initiated, a homeowner must follow Steps 1-7 outlined in the City’s packet Steps For Forming A District.

In summary, these steps include:

*Canvassing the neighborhood to gauge support for undergrounding.
*Proposing district boundaries to the City. Ideally, a proposed district should include no more than 300 homes but must be at least one block long (or 600 linear feet). Additionally, the boundaries proposed must be compatible with the utilities’ networks (to be determined when boundaries are proposed).
*Obtaining and submitting petition signatures from at least 60% of homeowners within the defined area. The City will notify all property owners within the proposed boundary that such an effort is underway at the time a petition drive commences.
*Achieving a 60% Survey Validation rate based on the number of surveys returned to the City. Once the district is recognized by the City, design plans will be requested from all participating utilities (Southern California Edison, Verizon and Time Warner). These design plans will become the basis for pricing a project, which in turn allows
homeowners to vote for or against undergrounding knowing the exact cost of undergrounding utilities in the public right-of-way. This cost DOES NOT include the additional private property expenses a homeowner may incur. See “What’s Included in the Cost to Underground Utilities” on page 6 for a full description of
the costs associated with undergrounding.

Here is some helpful information on some of the undergrounding districts currently approved.  We are posting this information but cannot guarantee it’s accuracy.

Districts 19-12 and 19-14

Construction Activities and Impacts

Construction of the underground utility projects for Underground Utility Assessment Districts 19-12 and 19-14 is anticipated to start late January/February 2020.

It is anticipated that the upcoming construction will have the following phasing:

• Installation of SCE vaults on Highland Avenue between Rosecrans Avenue and 45th Street. The work will start at 45th Street and move south.
• Installation of SCE vaults on Ocean Drive between Rosecrans Avenue and 45th Street.  The work will start at Rosecrans Avenue and move north.
• Installation of all other utility appurtenances, including conduits, hand holes, vents, etc. for both Districts.  The work will start in District 19-14 at Rosecrans Avenue and move north.  After District 19-14 is complete, the work will start in District 19-12 at 41st Street and move north.

The contractor hired by the utility companies (SCE, Frontier and Charter/Spectrum), Hot Line Construction, will be completing the right-of-way portion of the utility undergrounding project. They will be responsible for distributing all notices, including the actual start date of construction and when construction activities will be adjacent to your property. Hot Line Construction’s notices will also provide their contact information for any questions you may have regarding construction activities and for immediate assistance, if needed, throughout this phase of the project.

Construction Phasing

The District 19-12 and 19-14 undergrounding projects will be completed in four phases, with the entire process taking approximately 24 – 33 months to complete. The timeliness of each phase will depend on factors such as the scale and extent of the rainy season, timeliness of residential conversions, unforeseen conditions during construction, etc. These four phases include:

What You Need to Know

Below are additional, important details regarding the undergrounding projects. Your cooperation and patience will be greatly appreciated as we navigate through this process.

Notifications	Prior to construction in your immediate area, the contractor will post a flier on the property regarding the upcoming work.  It will contain information about the time and dates of construction activities, private property access restrictions, and who to contact if you have questions or concerns.  Notices will NOT be given for preconstruction pot-holing unless driveway access is affected.  If you see work begin on your street or near your home, and you would like more specific information about timing and access, please contact the Contractor’s onsite foreman directly.  The City does not maintain daily construction schedules.
Disruptions	Construction projects cause a number of disruptions.  Between the City-allowed working hours of 7:30 AM and 6:00 PM, you will encounter noise from equipment operations, worker conversations, vehicle traffic, limited street thru access, and some road closures along with other possible disturbances.
Parking and Street Access	Please note that once construction begins near your home, you will typically have limited or no access to your driveway/garage intermittently  for a 4-6 week period during the City-allowed working hours.  This duration is due to the number of construction stages occurring (i.e., cutting, digging, installing, backfilling and paving).  On these days, you will be encouraged to make alternative parking arrangements to meet your daily schedule and needs.  Additionally, you may contact the contractor’s onsite foreman for specific information, questions or concerns regarding driveway or street access.
Staging Equipment	Some large equipment (e.g., back hoes, trucks, pavers) used by the contractor will be parked onsite overnight during construction and may impact your ability to park curbside adjacent to your home.  Port-o-potties, as required by law, will also be made available and maintained at the construction site.  Please do not contact the City and ask that they be moved unless it blocks your property access.  Districts 19-12 and 19-14 is primarily residential, and therefore, port-o-potties must be parked adjacent to homes where construction crews are working.  As the construction moves through your immediate area, such equipment will also move through to the extent practicable.
Private Property Conduit	If your home was built or significantly remodeled (+50%) after 1977, your property may already have private property conduit installed to the front (or street) property line.  If you think this may be the case, BUT  you still have overhead wires connecting utility services to your house, please contact Bianca Cardenas, Senior Engineering Technician at the City, immediately, at (310) 802-5357 and she will walk you through the options available to help confirm the existence and location of that conduit.  If your property already has empty conduit installed and you reach out to her PRIOR to the  public right-of-way construction on your block, this action could potentially result in some cost savings to you during the Phase 2 conversion portion of the project. If your home was built before 1977 and has not been significantly remodeled (in which case placement of underground conduit was not required), you do not need to contact Bianca at this time unless you believe empty conduit was voluntarily installed.  You will be notified during Phase 2 to install conduit late this year. If the wires to your property are already undergrounded to the nearest utility pole, please contact us to confirm this so that the City can ensure that you are connected to the underground system being installed by the utilities.  You may email us this information to UUAD@citymb.info.  Please include your name, property address, the APN and a statement confirming that your are undergrounded to the nearest utility pole and have no overhead wires.  As an example, your email may be as simple as: APN: 4175-001-875 John and Jane Doe 220 Main Street There are no overhead lines to our house.

 

Assessment of Districts 19-12 and 19-14

On October 1, 2019, the City Council approved the levy of an assessment to pay for the undergrounding of overhead utilities in Underground Utility Assessment Districts No. 19-12 and 19-14. Of the ballots returned by the property owners, 62.27% and 64.19% (by weighted assessment) were in favor of forming District 19-12 and District 19-14, respectively, in order to facilitate the financing of the underground projects. The Final Engineer’s Reports for District 19-12 and District 19-14 were filed at Public Works Department upon formation of both Districts.

Design Plans

• District 19-12 NE – The northeast quadrant of District 19-12, which is near Highland Avenue between 45^th Street and 43^rd Street.
• District 19-12 NW – The northwest quadrant of District 19-12, which is near The Strand between 45^th Street and 43^rd Street.
• District 19-12 SE – The southeast quadrant of District 19-12, which is near Highland Avenue between Seaview Street and 41^st Street.
• District 19-12 SW – The southwest quadrant of District 19-12, which is near The Strand between Seaview Street and 41^st Street.
• District 19-14 NE  – The northeast quadrant of District 19-14, which is near Highland Avenue between 41^st Street and El Porto Street.
• District 19-14 NW – The northwest quadrant of District 19-14, which is near The Strand between 41^st Street and El Porto Street.
• District 19-14 SE  – The southeast quadrant of District 19-14, which is near Highland Ave. between 39^th Street and Rosecrans Avenue.
• District 19-14 SW – The southwest quadrant of District 19-14, which is near The Strand between 39^th Street and Rosecrans Avenue.