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Agoura approves underground utility district
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More from Local NewsAgoura Hills has established its first underground utility district in conjunction with a Southern California Edison program.
At its meeting Wednesday night, the City Council voted to formally establish Utility District No. 1, which will allow the city to continue receiving money to put utilities underground, according to a staff report from City Manager Greg Ramirez.
Creating the district brings the city closer to burying about a mile of lines along Highway 101 from Kanan Road to Lewis Drive. The resolution says the corridor passes through a heavily traveled public right-of-way "which will be an area of scenic interest to the general public."
The California Public Utilities Commission has asked cities to make putting public utilities underground a priority. The staff report said Southern California Edison "realizes the projects of this nature are a huge expense" so cities may need to bank the annual allocations until enough money is accrued to complete a project.
The city has been banking its annual allocation of $40,000 and has amassed $700,000, but that is not enough to complete a substantial project, the report said.
Agoura Hills moved to create the district after it learned from the CPUC and SCE that it could lose the funds to another agency because it appeared the city did not have plans to immediately use the money.
"I'm happy to see this happen," Councilman Denis Weber said.
"We were unaware of what we should have done," added Councilman Harry Schwarz.
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