INGLEWOOD – The city of Inglewood is expected to schedule a Public Hearing for May 20 at 2:00 p.m. to receive public comment on creating a proposed Underground Utility District on Crenshaw Blvd. between Imperial Highway and 116th Street.
The staff report on the May 6 city council agenda was put forth by the City’s Public Works Department, which has already begun major roadway improvements on the City’s longest street, Crenshaw Blvd., which stretches from 78th Street to the 105 Freeway.
The City has already begun tearing up the roadways and center dividers between Century Blvd. to 118th Street, which has removed drivers’ ability to turn westward along some portions of the most southern part of the construction.
According to news reports, undergrounding overhead utilities has a long history in California, dating back to 1967, when the California Public Utilities Commission encouraged and promoted it for aesthetic reasons.
Initially, the funding rule for these projects was established by the CPUC, which said the upfront undergrounding cost for any project is funded by the utility agency and paid back by the ratepayers.
The City cites a June 2021 decision by the CPUC revising its Electric Rule 20 Program, which discontinued the authorization of Electric Rule 20A work credit allocations. The work credits are funds that were allocated to communities by Southern California Edison (SCE) to convert overhead electric facilities to underground facilities, according to the staff report.
“SCE confirmed the City of Inglewood has work credits available to convert overhead electric facilities to underground electric facilities, provided it meets the 20A program criteria.
To qualify for full funding, projects must provide a benefit to the general public, not just the affected customers in the area by satisfying one or more of the below criteria:
- within or passing through a civic, recreational, or scenic area.
- unusually heavy concentration of overhead facilities;
- heavily traveled area;
- qualifies as an arterial or major collector road.
According to Rule 20A, projects that fall under the rule are paid for by all utility ratepayers, not just those who live in the area to be underground.
This disclosure was provided to residents in the city of Santa Barbara when they passed their ordinance that created their Underground Utility District.
The city of El Monte created a similar district around one of its fire stations.
“The location was chosen due to its proximity to the El Monte Fire Station and the importance of El Monte Road, Moody Road, and Elena Road as emergency evacuation routes. Amongst many other benefits, such as service reliability and aesthetics, undergrounding utilities in this area reduces the risk for delayed Fire Department response due to downed wires.”
According to SCE, the section of Crenshaw Blvd. between Imperial Highway and 116th Street qualifies because it eliminates an unusually heavy concentration of overhead lines, involves a street with a high volume of traffic, and is listed as an arterial street or major collector as defined in the Governor’s Office of Planning and Research.
Crenshaw Blvd. is a major street that brings consumers to the City from the 105 Freeway to the Inglewood Sports and Entertainment District, and although no public money was used to build the stadiums in question, residents are left on the hook paying for all of the ‘accouterment’ that comes along with it.
Inglewood’s staff report does not disclose whether SCE intends to charge back its customers for any of the activities related to this project.
