Utility undergrounding underway again in Manhattan Beach
The City Council on Tuesday night approved the hiring of an engineer to work specifically on utility undergrounding. The move, which was unanimously approved and comes at a cost of $168,000 annually, officially signals that the undergrounding process is about to get underway again in the city after nearly a decade hiatus. Two districts that passed the petitioning process in the early 2000s, District 12 and 14, which comprise the El Porto neighborhood of North Manhattan Beach, reemerged last year when the City Council lifted a moratorium enacted during the recession of 2009. Those districts have already gone out to bid and voting is scheduled to begin in August. Two other previously formed districts — District 8, in the heart of downtown, and District 13, east of Highland and south of Rosecrans in North Manhattan — have asked to reform, while five new neighborhood districts have inquired with the city about formation. “They are champing at the bit,” said Stephanie Katsouleas, the city’s public works director. Undergrounding, intended to enhance views by removing the visual clutter of power and phone lines, was a divisive issue within the community in the early and mid-2000s. The…
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