Hearing on Area Code Overlays Postponed
A Sept. 2 hearing on controversial area code overlays in the 818 and 310 calling areas has been postponed two weeks to allow Public Utilities Commission members more time to study the issue, officials said Friday.
The delay was called by PUC Commissioner Joel Hyatt, who wants to further consider the effects of overlays on residents and business owners, and to mull alternative area code relief plans, officials said.
The PUC is now scheduled to consider the overlay proposals at its regular meeting set for 10 a.m. Sept. 16 at its San Francisco headquarters.
This is the second time the commission has deferred action on the 818 overlay since June 30, when an administrative law judge recommended the plan to the PUC over an alternative plan to split the 818 area code in the San Fernando Valley.
In the case of the 310 area code, state regulators released a draft ruling on Aug. 3 that would resume plans for an overlay, despite last-minute resistance from callers in West Los Angeles and the South Bay.
A tentative decision was written by PUC Commissioner Henry Duque, but it is not final, and another commissioner may come forward with an alternative at the panel’s Sept. 16 meeting.
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