NEWPORT BEACH : District Set Up to Bury Utility Lines
The City Council has created an assessment district in the Corona del Mar area at the request of homeowners who want utility poles removed from their streets and power lines placed underground.
The assessment district includes an area bordered by Hazel Drive, Poppy Avenue and Coast Highway.
The project will cost an estimated $427,964, with each property owner paying $158.93 per frontage foot.
Kenneth Perry, a civil engineer in Newport Beach’s Public Works Department, said the average lot has 40 frontage feet, costing each homeowner about $6,347. In addition, homeowners would have to pay $1,200 to $2,100 for conduit hookup fees.
Perry said work could begin this spring and will take about a year to complete.
Property owners along Poppy Avenue initiated the project last March, saying the utility poles are unsightly, dangerous and diminish property values.
But Hazel Drive property owners, who are served by the lines, told council members on Monday that they would only minimally benefit from the project because the poles do not obstruct their views.
“The people on Hazel don’t see out the front of the houses,” said Jean Lansdale, who lives on Hazel Drive. Instead, their homes border a canyon known as Buck Gully.
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