City to Take Edison to Court Over Easements for Bridge

After months of public outrage about delays in building a footbridge over the Arroyo Simi, City Council members Wednesday night voted unanimously to take a reluctant landowner to court to seize access rights to land needed to begin the project.

The vote ended long and ultimately fruitless negotiations between the city and Southern California Edison over the property, near the spot where 11-year-old Joel Burchfield drowned in January, and came eight months after the council first threatened condemnation.

Construction on the 161-foot span cannot begin until the city secures access rights, or easements, across the land, which lies on the arroyo’s southern bank near Liberty Bell Road.

Council members said they could not go to court earlier, stating they first needed to determine a fair price for the easements, offer to buy them from Edison and wait for the company’s response.

After Edison officials rejected the city’s $7,700 offer on Oct. 15, saying they did not have enough time or information to evaluate the offer, condemnation proceedings could finally begin.

“Every step’s been taken,” Councilwoman Eloise Brown said before the meeting. “This is the last vote we need to get moving.”

The move capped a month of sudden progress on the bridge project, which had languished for much of the year. Alarmed by the project’s slow pace, Joel’s parents, Dan and Laura Burchfield, began regularly attending council meetings, pushing for faster action.

They also enlisted more than 100 friends to write letters to Edison executives, asking that the two sides reach an agreement.

“I’m very happy. Now we’ve just got to keep on it and keep on it,” said Dan Burchfield, who attended the meeting.

In return for the easements, Edison officials wanted the city to grant them full use of the Arroyo Vista Community Park road to reach some of the company’s land along the arroyo.

The company tentatively plans to build a private sports center on the land and wanted the park road, which currently has its gate locked at night, to handle the center’s traffic.

City officials argued that the road and the bridge were two separate issues, and the company eventually dropped its request.

Although Wednesday’s vote concluded one set of negotiations, it set the stage for another.

Edison and the city must now agree, in court, on a final price for the easements.

However, the city can seize access to the land before the two sides reach agreement.