DATE: March 26, 2025
TO: Honorable Mayor and City Councilmembers
FROM: Development Services Department
TITLE: RESOLUTION OF INTENT TO AMEND THE OCEANSIDE BOULEVARD UNDERGROUND UTILITY DISTRICT
RECOMMENDATION
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Staff recommends that the City Council adopt a resolution declaring the City’s intention to amend the Oceanside Boulevard Underground Utility District (UUD) to remove properties along Oceanside Boulevard from Camelot Drive to El Camino Real and set a public hearing on April 9, 2025 to consider the matter.
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BACKGROUND AND ANALYSIS
California Public Utilities Commission (CPUC) Rule 20 is a tariff that governs utility undergrounding of overhead wires at the request of third parties, such as local governments, individual property owners, and developers. CPUC Rule 20A project funding is specific to local governments and is 100 percent ratepayer-funded through customer electrical utility bills. The funding is facilitated as work credits which can be utilized by San Diego Gas & Electric (SDG&E) and the City to implement a proposed undergrounding project.
On January 21, 2004, the City Council adopted Resolution 04-R040-1 to approve creation of the Oceanside Boulevard UUD pursuant to the CPUC Rule 20A Program. Currently, the UUD includes underground utilities located along an approximate 1.5-mile stretch of Oceanside Boulevard between Greenbrier Drive and El Camino Real. On June 5, 2013, the City Council adopted Resolution 13-R0400-1 to expand the Oceanside Boulevard UUD to include an approximate 600-foot section along Crouch Street from Oceanside Boulevard to Apple Street. See Exhibit B.
Overhead utilities situated along Oceanside Boulevard from Crouch Street to Camelot Drive have been undergrounded gradually since that time; however, the remaining sections of overhead utilities along Oceanside Boulevard have yet to be undergrounded. Those sections include 1) Oceanside Boulevard between Greenbrier Street and Crouch Street, 2) Oceanside Boulevard between Camelot Drive and El Camino Real, and 3) Crouch Street between Oceanside Boulevard to Apple Street.
On June 3, 2021 the California Public Utility Commission (CPUC) issued decision D.21-06-0013 to discontinue new Rule 20A projects as the work credit system was encountering statewide issues relating to the use ratepayer funds, high project costs, and project delays. As a result, the CPUC, on June 8, 2023, issued decision D.23-06-008 that set an expiration to reallocate any unused work credits by June 8, 2025 and to expire all work credits by end of 2033.
To avoid expiration of the City’s work credits for the proposed undergrounding work within the Oceanside Boulevard UUD, the City Council must approve any modifications to the UUD's final boundary before June 8, 2025. Based on available work credits, staff recommends amending the Oceanside Boulevard UUD boundary by removing areas along Oceanside Boulevard from Camelot Drive to El Camino Real as the remaining boundary can be satisfied by the current available work credits. The amendment adoption requires a public hearing; therefore, staff recommends the City Council adopt a resolution of intent to amend the Oceanside Boulevard UUD as reflected in the attached Exhibit A, and set a public hearing for the City Council’s formal consideration of the UUD amendment at its April 9, 2025 meeting.
Upon the City Council’s approval to amend the Oceanside Boulevard UUD, staff will bring forward a proposed Public Works Agreement (PWA) to the City Council for consideration. The proposed PWA scope of work would include civil work (i.e., trenching, conduit installation, backfill, and paving) required to underground the modified UUD limits.
FISCAL IMPACT
SDG&E collects funds from its ratepayers for 20A conversion projects. SDG&E currently holds $4.8 million in Rule 20A work credits that may be utilized for the proposed Oceanside Boulevard UUD project. SDG&E estimates it will utilize $2.1 million for the utility work (i.e., cable pulls, cable connections, service cutovers, and removal of overhead utilities) for undergrounding the area as depicted in Exhibit A. This leaves approximately $2.7 million available for the City to utilize for site work (trenching, conduit installation, backfill, and paving) to underground the area as shown in Exhibit A.
The City would be responsible for paying the up-front costs (approximately $2.7 million) associated with the site work and administrative costs to notify property owners, coordinate the conversion of service feeds to individual businesses, and provide inspection and oversight of street construction and traffic control. The cost for the civil work incurred by the City would be available for reimbursement with SDG&E utilizing the work credits after the successful completion of the proposed project.
Staff is currently recommending the City Council to adopt a resolution of the City’s intent to amend the Oceanside Boulevard UUD boundaries and set a public hearing for the City Council’s formal consideration. Staff will ask the City Council to appropriate funds when the district is formally amended to allow for the City to complete the work until the reimbursement request to SDG&E can be made and to cover administrative costs and all other related costs.
COMMISSION OR COMMITTEE REPORT
The City’s Utilities Commission reviewed the amended boundary of the Oceanside Boulevard UUD on January 21, 2025 to recommend approval of staff’s recommendation to the City Council and voted 6-0 for approval with Commissioner Raetz abstaining and Commissioners Wood and Doan absent.
CITY ATTORNEY’S ANALYSIS
The referenced documents have been reviewed by the City Attorney and approved as to form.
Prepared by: Edward Soto, Associate Engineer
Reviewed by: Darlene Nicandro, Development Services Director
Submitted by: Jonathan Borrego, City Manager
ATTACHMENTS:
1. Staff Report
2. Exhibit A Map
3. Exhibit B Original Boundary of Resolution 04-R040-1
4. Resolution of The City of Oceanside Noticing a Public Hearing to Amend the Oceanside Boulevard Underground Utility District