Underground Utility Assessment Districts (UUAD)

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The City’s Underground Utility Assessment District (UUAD) Program helps property owners convert overhead utility lines to an underground system. This improves neighborhood aesthetics, reliability, and safety. Learn about the process, check your property status, and stay up to date here.

UUAD 12 & 14 – Property Status Interactive Map

How to Use This Map:

Use the tools on the right side of the map:

Legend
Search by Address
Filter by Property Status

Note: Click on any parcel to view more information. If a parcel contains multiple addresses, use the arrows in the pop-up to scroll through each one.

Glossary: Property Status Categories

Overhead – No Work Started
The property is still connected to overhead utilities and no underground preparation work has been initiated.
Overhead – Not Released
The underground work may have started, but the property has not yet passed the City’s Electrical Release inspection.
Overhead – Released
The property has passed the Electrical Release inspection and has been released to SCE. The contractor must now coordinate with SCE for the final inspection and cut-over.
Overhead – Converted / Existing Underground
The property has been converted to underground service, or was already underground prior to this project.
Phone/Cable Installed
Electrical already converted to underground; phone/cable conduits are installed. Spectrum/Frontier will contact the owner to coordinate any required telecom conversion.
City to Convert
The City will be performing the conversion work at this property.
Need Phone/Cable Only
Electrical already converted to underground. Phone/cable conduit must be installed before telecom conversion can occur.
Stubbed for New Construction
The underground infrastructure has been installed, but the property is under construction or not yet ready for full conversion.

UUAD 12 & 14 – Conversion Status Summary

ACTIVE DISTRICTS

ADDITIONAL INFORMATION

Districts Attempting to Form

Program Overview

Utility undergrounding is the process of placing all overhead utilities (power, telephone, and cable TV wires) and facilities, such as electrical transformers, underground. The City does not currently own, operate or maintain any overhead electrical or communications utilities, but rather they belong to:

Southern California Edison (electricity);
Frontier (formerly Verizon, for telecom and cable and internet); and
Spectrum (formerly Time Warner and Adelphia, for cable and internet).

Southern California Edison (SCE) carries out overhead-to-underground conversions through its Rule 20 program. Telecom utilities carry out these conversions through the Rule 40 program, which in many respects mirrors SCE’s Rule 20 program.

UUADs are initiated and formed by property owners within the UUAD, who are interested in paying for the undergrounding of the overhead utilities in their neighborhood.

Current District Formation Guidelines

Current District Formation Guidelines

Steps for Forming a District (PDF) provides detailed information on the procedures that must be undertaken to form a district and identifies the required thresholds for various phases within that process. In summary, the steps address the following phases:

The district boundary formation process
The petition drive process, signature threshold requirement and the City’s verification process
Design and bidding phases
Assessment and voting phases
Construction and cabling phases
Pole removal and project completion phases

Utility Undergrounding in the City of Manhattan Beach

Community Interest Survey

Community Interest Survey

In the March 19, 2024 City Council Meeting, City Council:

Received and Filed Results of the 2O23 UUAD Survey;
Directed Staff to Focus New District Formation Efforts in Areas Exhibiting the Greatest Amount of Property Owner Support; and
Allowed Subsets of Potential Districts to Move Forward if the Surrounding Blocks are Not Supportive of Undergrounding.

CLICK MAP TO ENLARGE

In July 2022, Public Works received City Council approval to survey property owners biennially to assess interest in the Underground Utility Assessment District (UUAD) Program. In August 2023, staff released the first survey via a mailer to evaluate neighborhood support and opposition to utility undergrounding, given a range of estimated per-parcel costs for future districts. The collected information will aid in establishing the boundaries and prioritization of future undergrounding districts within the City. The survey was distributed to property owners in areas of the City where residents have previously expressed interest in utility undergrounding, as indicated in the figure below.

A copy of the August 2023 survey form can be found here (PDF). Survey responses were collected online, submitted via e-mail, or dropped off at City Hall. The data collected from the community survey is currently being analyzed, and information will be shared on the UUAD webpage after the results are presented to City Council in March 2024.