Power lines will remain underground

Josh Kleinbaum

Glendale Water & Power has buried plans to install aboveground power

lines along the Sunshine Fire Trail in the Verdugo Mountains, instead

opting to spend more money to replace underground ones.

The department scrapped the plan after the city’s Environmental

Planning Board ruled that aboveground lines would ruin the view for

hikers and bikers, and could be a fire hazard. The board said a full

environmental impact report would be necessary to analyze those

effects.

The power lines will replace underground lines that have given

power to a KROQ-FM (106.7) antenna since 1964.

“We still have to fix the lines and put it underground,” said Tony

Mai, an electrical engineer for GWP. “The question is, we don’t know

whether the underground installation will require an [environmental

report] or not.”

GWP will submit a report to the planning department within a week,

Mai said, and that department will determine if an environmental

report is necessary. Replacing existing utilities typically receives

an exemption from environmental reports, City Planner Erik Krause

said, but his department must review the plans to determine the

effects of construction.

GWP wanted to use aboveground lines to save money. The aboveground

installation would cost about $120,000, while underground lines might

cost more than $500,000, Mai said. But members of the Environmental

Planning Board said cost is not a factor in their decision.

“These decisions are made strictly on the basis of whether there’s

an impact on the environment, not how much it costs, and a lot of

[GWP’s] arguments revolve around costs,” said City Engineer Lou

Leblanc, who served on the board. “That trail is used [by hikers],

and the view is wonderful. It’s a step backward to put poles up there

when we have underground lines now.”

A handful of bikers and hikers had complained that the power lines

would ruin a well-used trail.

Mai said that the underground lines do not provide reliable

service and must be replaced. The dirt road is worn by erosion and

use by city vehicles, and some of the power lines are exposed, he

said. Digging a trench more than three feet deep alongside the road

could threaten its stability, Mai said.

“We’ll put it as deep as we’re allowed to, and we’ll have to come

up with a way to protect it much better,” Mai said.

Because the underground power lines need to be de-energized before

they are replaced, GWP must come up with temporary power sources for

the KROQ antenna, such as temporary overhead lines or power

generators. Generators will cost $1,000 per day and would be needed

for about two months.

The time frame for replacing the lines depends on whether an

environmental report is necessary. If a report must be prepared, it

could take eight months before work begins.