UTILTIES IMPROVEMENT PROJECT

GRANDVIEW SILVER SPUR NEIGHBORHOOD

QUESTIONS FROM HOMEOWNERS

 

 

June 9, 2003

 

The following list of questions was collected from homeowners and residents within the Grandview Silver Neighborhood for presentation to the Rancho Palos Verdes Public Works Department.

 

GENERAL QUESTIONS:

 

1)      Has the City of RPV installed any underground utility improvement projects?

 

2)      If so, what neighborhoods or developments were utilities installed underground?

 

3)      Are there any Utility Improvement Projects currently under construction in RPV?

 

4)      How were previous projects funded? Were there any cost sharing funds from the utilities, and or from the city, county or state?

 

5)      Does the RPV Public Works Department, City Mayor and the current City Council have a public policy regarding its recommendation as to when and how a neighborhood should commence a utility improvement project?

 

6)      Is the City in general proactive in its support of utility improvement projects or in advocating utility undergrounding?

 

7)      Can the City approve a utility improvement district in the event the approval in the district is greater than 51% but less than the anticipated plan amount of 65% approval?

 

8)      Regarding a petition vote, how does the City account for a property owner that does not cast a vote? Is the approval percentage based on only those qualified voters that respond to a formal City petition?

 

9)      If a property parcel has two owners listed on the tax rolls, and one votes for the project and the other owner does not, how are parcels treated as to a vote for or against the project?  (This  actually happened during our survey)

 

10)   Does the Master Plan for RPV address utility improvement projects? If so, what is the recommended approach that is stated in the plan? 

 

11)   Has the City, as representative government, ever proceeded on its own to initiate a utility improvement district without residents first petitioning the City to commence a project?   

 

12)   As a general requirement, how many homes or parcels does the city need to establish a utility improvement district?

 

13)   What is the percent approval needed in homes in the neighborhood to approve the plan and fund the assessment district?

 

14)   Our proposed improvement district comprises 220 homes within Grandview Silver Spur. Can this be downsized to a contiguous subset of the 220 in the event some streets within the initial project decide to “opt out”?  

 

(i.e., Can the project be modified once it is initiated without having to restart the process?)

 

15)   What is the minimum parcel count or linear distance that must be obtained to qualify for maximum improvement district benefits (i.e., bond offering, financing options, local, county, state, federal etc.)?

 

16)   What part does the city perform in managing or determining easement use? Does the city have control over easements once the easement is granted?

 

17)  It is assumed that three utility companies shall be involved in the underground project for aerial utilities. Is there an appointed master utility manager that is responsible for management of all easement users?

 

18)  In the event utilities are under-grounded for the Grandview Silver Spur neighborhood using the street right of way, can the existing easements be vacated? If so what is the application process for the vacating?

 

 

19)   Assuming some vacating of easements on some properties after the improvement project, can these owners then restructure improvements on their parcels accordingly – granted that future building permits must still be processed by the City?

 

 

QUESTIONS REGARDING UTILITY COMPANY PARTICIPATION:

 

20)   What is the current life expectancy of the existing utility equipment that is in the Grandview Silver Spur Neighborhood?

 

21)   Is the City aware of any plans by the utility companies to improve utilities in the neighborhood?

 

22)   Are there any current utility improvement plans that the City is recommending for the Grandview Silver Spur Neighborhood?

 

23)   It is assumed that utility companies (electrical, telephone, CATV) have funds either set aside or budgeted for maintenance and or long term replacement of their respective wires, cables and equipment. Can the city gain access to data on these funds (if they exist) and find out where the utility company is in the asset recovery stage or planning stage for our neighborhood?

 

(i.e., Assume the life expectancy of the aerial utility equipment, for example the electrical, is 50 years and it has been 45 years since the wiring and equipment was replaced. Would it not be in the utility company’s best interest to cooperate and fund a reasonable part of the improvement project with newer and more reliable equipment? )

 

24)   It is assumed that the utility company’s maintenance costs should decrease significantly when the underground project is completed. If so, are there any anticipated cost reduction benefits to owners within the neighborhood that may be reflected in the utility bill?

 

25)   Some owners assume that underground utilities are significantly more cost effective to maintain than the aerial counterparts. Is this a correct assumption?

 

26)   By removing aerial cabling, and replacing it with new underground cabling, it is assumed that the Utility Improvement Project will be upgrading the system for the utility companies and providing a significant cost benefit to them. Will the City negotiate with the utility companies to cost share the improvements per each parties benefit?

 

27)  Assuming all equipment for telephone, cable, and electricity are installed underground, will the engineering plans for the new underground system estimate and size for future capacity?

 

28)  What is the expected life expectancy of the utility improvement district that would be typically be installed for Grandview Silver Spur?

 

29)   Assuming an improvement project is approved, will the electrical company install the new remote digital metering devices? Does this mean that a monthly meter reader will no longer need to visit each property?

   

30)  When a “stub-out” connection of the new service for each parcel is created, what is the general impact to each parcel in terms of trenching size (i.e., length, depth, width) , connection fees (if any) and modifications needed for connection to the residence?

 

31)   Will the contactor installing the utility reconnection to each property be required to restore any trenched lawn or landscaping to its original state?

 

32)   Electrical transformers in Grandview Silver Spur appear on utility poles approximately every four or five homes.  Can the new transformers be installed underground instead of placed above ground on pallets at selected parcels?

 

 (i.e., The Ridgecrest neighborhood near Crenshaw Boulevard installed underground utilities in the 1970’s and transformers are subsurface. One cannot hardly see any above surface evidence that utilities actually exist. Several neighbors of Silver Spur recommend this approach for our neighborhood)

 

33)  Can a property owner increase the size of the electrical power panel to his property?

 

(i.e., It is our understanding that original homes (built around 1956) have panels with approximately 200 amp service. Most new or remodeled homes have panels with power panels rated at 400 amp service or more.)

 

 

 

QUESTIONS REGARDING FUNDING:

 

34)  Are there any public funds, local, county, state and federal that may qualify for use in the Utility Improvement Project?

 

35)   It is the understanding of some residents that the City annually allocates some tax funds for general esthetic improvements for all RPV neighborhoods. Can the residents within Grandview Silver Spur request that their funds be used toward establishing the Utility Improvement District in lieu of assessing only the requesting residents for an application fee?

 

36)   Some owners are concerned that early engineering cost estimates may vary from the finalized actual project costs. At what point in the utility improvement process will owners be given a firm assessed cost for the owners parcel. Will owners be petitioned to approve or disapprove the finalized assessed cost per parcel?

 

     37)   Does each parcel owner select a contractor and negotiate the “stub-out”         connection cost and installation for their parcel?

 

38)   Can the cost for connecting from the utility “stub-out” to each owners property be funded within the total cost assessment for each owner’s property?

 

39)   Some seniors in the neighborhood have asked whether the assessed cost of a utility improvement project for their parcel can be deferred until the sale or transfer of the property. If a deferral program exists, at what age does an owner qualify for the deferral? How is the deferral financed?

 

40)   What financing or payment plans are available to the homeowner, regarding the utility improvement project?

 

41)   Since there is an infrastructure improvement to each parcel in the neighborhood, will the County assessor tax the improvement project via each homeowner’s property tax? If so, what is the estimated assessment?

 

42)   Does the City know of any federal or state tax assessments that may be incurred by the property owner as result of the utility improvement project?