Council Threatens to Condemn Edison’s Land for Footbridge

With residents clamoring for a footbridge across the Arroyo Simi near where an 11-year-old boy drowned last winter, City Council members Wednesday prepared to condemn a small strip of land owned by Southern California Edison that is needed for the project.

The council voted unanimously to offer Edison $7,700 for permanent easements across less than an acre of land it owns on the arroyo’s southern bank. If the utility company rejects the offer, council members warned that the city would seize access to the land through public condemnation.

The move reflected the council’s growing impatience with the deadlocked negotiations with Edison over the property, talks that have stretched on for years. Councilman Pat Hunter complained that the process had been slowed by the company’s bureaucracy.

“I think one of the most frustrating things here is the level of insulation between us and the people in Edison who can make a decision,” he said. “We have not been able to deal with the people who can make the decisions.”

The council gave company officials until Oct. 21--or Oct. 28 if the city attorney decides that a later deadline would be more prudent--to respond to its offer. If Edison rejects it or doesn’t respond by the deadline, the council said it would meet Oct. 30 to vote on condemning the land.

City Manager Steve Kueny said that if the council condemns the land, the city would have the easements it needs by the end of February.

Paula Ames, a licensing specialist with Edison, told the council that the city could speed up the project by forgoing the offer and immediately starting what she referred to as “friendly condemnation.” Under this plan, the company would not argue the city’s right to condemn the property, but would haggle over the price.

But Kueny said the city must first offer to buy the easements before starting any condemnation proceeding.

The council’s decision came as a relief to Moorpark residents, who have pressured the city since February to build a pedestrian bridge near where sixth-grader Joel Burchfield drowned while trying to cross the rain-swollen arroyo on his way home from school.

“I am pleased, but I don’t understand why it has to take so long,” said Laura Burchfield, Joel’s mother. She and her neighbors came to the council meeting Wednesday after placing signs along Tierra Rejada Road. The brightly colored banners say, “Don’t Delay!!!” “Save a Life!” and “Build the Bridge.”

Burchfield vowed to keep up the pressure on the city and Edison to get the bridge built. “We want to be a part of it, whether it’s visiting the company or writing letters,” she said.

The Edison property is the last missing piece in a patchwork of easements and permits needed before construction of the 182-foot bridge can begin. Company and city officials have negotiated over the conditions Edison has placed on granting the city access across its land, located at the proposed bridge’s southern landing.

In return for the company’s cooperation, Edison officials wanted the city to provide access to another piece of company property, which is sandwiched between the stream and Arroyo Vista Community Park. Company officials want to develop the property--filling it with batting cages and a golf driving range--and said they need unrestricted use of a park road for access.

City officials countered that the bridge easement and the park road were separate issues. After Wednesday night’s meeting, Edison regional manager Rudy Gonzales said the company would no longer seek to link the two issues.

“We’ll deal with the access later,” he said.