Undergrounding

Undergrounding From Top To Bottom

September 26, 2004
In the past two years we have begun many undergrounding projects within the Navajo communities. For example, Zion Avenue between Waring Road and Crawford Street in Allied Gardens is complete as is Streamview in Darnell. Also in Allied Gardens, we're in the process of placing lines under ground on Orcutt and 50th and Twain Avenue between Waring Road and Mission Gorge Road. In San Carlos, the area on Cowles Mountain Boulevard from Navajo Road north to the end is in the final stage. Also in San Carlos as you drive on Jackson Drive from Lakeshore Drive to Lake Murray Boulevard you will see construction underway.

By next summer we will begin undergrounding Madra Avenue from Del Cerro Boulevard all the way to Park Ridge Boulevard past Patrick Henry High School. With the major thoroughfares virtually completed, we have begun to underground our residential streets.

The first area selected is one of the oldest in District 7, namely Rolando Park. There are 20 areas to be undergrounded within the District. The second area may be the first homes in Del Cerro Boulevard - east of College Avenue off of Del Cerro Boulevard. Madra Avenue is also being targeted as a major community thoroughfare. Streets like Del Cerro Boulevard and Madra Avenue are part of a program being completed separately from the residential undergrounding.

I can assure you that it would be great to wave a magic wand and have everyone's house utility lines undergrounded. Unfortunately it is a long and expensive project. But the fact is this should have been done a long time ago. If I along with the Mayor and Councilmember Toni Atkins had not pushed for the residential program at Council and if my colleagues had not agreed then we would not be moving forward at all. Yes it is going to take time - roughly one area per year - but the results will be well worth it.

Undergrounding Has Rolando Park Leading the Way

Residential undergrounding of utility lines in all City neighborhoods is coming but it will take time. The goal is to have the entire City undergrounded within 20 years and finally we're beginning the process on our residential streets. As a result, the City's neighborhood areas have been divided up into small segments. The plan, that Council recently approved and which begins this year, stipulates that one segment from each Council District will be undergrounded. The first segment within Council District 7 will be a portion of Rolando Park between University Avenue and the MLK/Highway 94.

This will involve taking down unsightly utility poles and burying the wires underground. No more ugly poles and wires. It also means some of our older neighborhoods will enjoy an advantage that new neighborhoods have because wiring is under ground. The City of San Diego is coordinating with utility providers such as SBC, SDG&E, Cox Cable and Time Warner. There is no doubt that residents will have some inconvenience while the conversation takes place but the City will make every effort to keep the impact to a minimum. The under grounding in Rolando Park is expected to begin the later half of 2005. Future neighborhoods in our district will be randomly selected for undergrounding.

A little more background about undergrounding in San Diego

For over 25 years, all property owners in the City of San Diego have been paying, as part of electricity rates, the cost of undergrounding utilities. The California Public Utilities Commission or CPUC rules only allow these funds to be used for the under grounding of major thoroughfares (such as Zion, Streamview, Jackson, etc.). Since 1971, twenty-eight underground conversion projects totaling approximately 23 miles of overhead lines have been converted to underground along major thoroughfares in District 7. Most recently, Zion Avenue , portions of El Cajon Boulevard and portions of Montezuma Road were completed. Del Cerro Boulevard and a major portion of Cowles Mountain Boulevard are currently underway. Lakeshore Drive, Princess View Drive and Jackson Drive are being designed for construction and Streamview is nearly complete. However, the problem with this program is that CPUC rules do not permit the undergrounding of residential areas.

In 2002, the CPUC approved revised franchise terms between the City of San Diego and SDG&E that would create a program for undergrounding lines specifically for residential areas. Under this program, SDG&E franchise fees paid to the City were increased to be 3.53% of SDG&E's gross electric revenue. This increase is passed along by SDG&E to all its electric customers. The CPUC approved this program with the City committing that 100% of these increased franchise fees would be used solely and exclusively for the undergrounding of overhead lines. It is a historic program and the only one of its kind in the nation.

The undergrounding of overhead lines benefits the entire City and is seen as a benefit to the general public at large. New underground lines increase the reliability and efficiency of the electrical grid as well as help redevelop older communities, which also benefits the general public at large. Undergrounding is paid by all electricity users because the entire City benefits by having more neighborhoods that have safer electrical distribution that is more reliable and more esthetically pleasing.

HOTLINE NUMBER: (619) 533-3841

View the schedule for upcoming undergrounding projects.

City of San Diego Utilities Undergrounding Program Web site.