AGENDA REPORT
REQUEST FOR CITY COUNCIL ACTION
DATE: 9/19/2018
TO: Honorable Mayor and City Council Members
FROM: Public Works Department
SUBJECT:
Title
City Council consideration to waive the Corona Municipal Code Section 15.60.080 requirement to place underground the overhead utility lines along the south side of Rincon Street fronting Assessor’s Parcel Number 119210026 - Corona Industrial Park, LLC, a Delaware Limited Liability Company.
End
RECOMMENDED ACTION:
Recommended action
That the City Council waive the requirement to underground the overhead utility lines along the south side of Rincon Street fronting Assessor’s Parcel Number 119210026 - Corona Industrial Park, LLC, a Delaware Limited Liability Company.
Body
ANALYSIS:
Corona Industrial Park, LLC, is the developer of a project located on the south side of Rincon Street, east of Smith Avenue and west of Lincoln Avenue in the M-2 (General Manufacturing) Zone, as shown on Exhibit “A.” The project proposes to construct three (3) industrial buildings totaling 727,316 square feet on this parcel.
As shown on Exhibit “B,” Corona Industrial Park, LLC has submitted a request to waive their requirement to underground overhead utility lines fronting the property. Corona Municipal Code Section 15.60.080 stipulates that the owner of a property is obligated to comply with the requirement to place all overhead utility lines less than 34 kilovolts underground when a proposed addition exceeds 50 percent of the cost of replacing the existing building. The existing power lines along Rincon Street carry both distribution and transmission lines, some of which are greater than 33 kilovolts. The undergrounding of the lines less than 34 kilovolts that front the property will not result in the removal of the poles as transmission lines will remain. In addition, the removal of the overhead lines in front of the property would not provide benefit to the surrounding area.
In response to the request, staff has reviewed the site, the surrounding properties, and the existing condition of the utilities in the area. Due to the existence of the transmission lines on the poles, the undergrounding of certain lines will not impact the removal of those poles, making the condition impractical. For this reason, the Public Works Department and the Community Development Department supports the request for a waiver of the requirement to underground the overhead distribution lines on Rincon Street.
COMMITTEE ACTION:
Not applicable.
STRATEGIC PLAN:
Not applicable.
FISCAL IMPACT:
All applicable fees have been paid by the applicant.
ENVIRONMENTAL ANALYSIS:
This action is exempt pursuant to Section 15061(b)(3) of the Guidelines for the California Environmental Quality Act (CEQA), which states that a project is exempt from CEQA if the activity is covered by the general rule that CEQA applies only to projects that have the potential for causing a significant effect on the environment. Where it can be seen with certainty that there is no possibility that the activity in question may have a significant effect on the environment, the activity is not subject to CEQA. This action merely approves a waiver of the requirement to underground the overhead distribution lines, and there is no possibility that approving this waiver will have a significant effect on the environment. Therefore, no environmental analysis is required.
PREPARED BY: ZACHARY MURRAY, E.I.T., UTILITY ENGINEER
REVIEWED BY: MICHELE HINDERSINN, P.E., SENIOR ENGINEER
REVIEWED BY: TOM KOPER, P.E., ASSISTANT PUBLIC WORKS DIRECTOR
REVIEWED BY: NELSON D. NELSON, P.E., PUBLIC WORKS DIRECTOR
REVIEWED BY: KERRY D. EDEN, ASSISTANT CITY MANAGER/ADMINISTRATIVE SERVICES DIRECTOR
REVIEWED BY: MICHELE NISSEN, ASSISTANT CITY MANAGER
SUBMITTED BY: DARRELL TALBERT, CITY MANAGER
Exhibits: “A” - Vicinity Map
“B” - Waiver Request with attachments