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August 27, 2026
VIA ELECTRONIC MAIL
([email protected])
Mayor Jacque Casillas, Vice Mayor Wes Speake, and
Councilmembers Tony Daddario, Tom Richins, and Jim Steiner c/o Sylvia Edwards, City Clerk
City of Corona
400 S. Vicentia Ave, Suite 115
Corona, California 92882
RE: Circle City Project, CUP2023-0001 – Request for Waiver of Undergrounding of Existing Utilities Located at the Northwest Corner of Cota Street and Rincon Street Dear Mayor Casillas, Vice Mayor Speake, and Councilmembers:
I am writing on behalf of Circle City Energy Storage, LLC (“Circle City”) to request a waiver of undergrounding requirements at the Circle City Battery Energy Storage System Project (“Project”) site.
The Project is a battery energy storage facility on three parcels totaling 5.5 acres, approved by Conditional Use Permit (“CUP”) 2023-0001, located at the northwest corner of Cota Street and Rincon Street.
Existing utility lines run along four poles on the western side of Cota Street, including existing Southern California Edison (SCE) & Spectrum telecom lines and a 33 kilovolt (“kV”) power line (“Existing Lines”) that run along the lower portion of the existing poles. These Existing Lines are the subject of this request.
Per Corona Municipal Code (“CMC”) section 15.60 et seq., overhead wires that transmit less than 34 kV must be relocated underground when a new building or structure is proposed, or an addition is made to an existing structure or building to which those wires provide service. In addition, the CUP Conditions of Approval Nos. 7, 10, and 31 require undergrounding of all existing and new utilities adjacent to and on-site, except as otherwise provided by the CMC.
1 In particular, City Planning and Development
Department staff recently clarified in conversations with Circle City representatives that these Conditions require the undergrounding of the Existing Lines that run along the west side of Cota Street, adjacent to the Project site. However, CMC section 15.60.060 allows the City Council to grant a waiver of these requirements if the finding can be made that undergrounding would be unreasonable, impractical, and cause undue hardship to the applicant or the general public. 1 Condition of Approval No. 10 excepts “cables greater than 32k volts” from undergrounding. Because the language of the CMC excepts only cables greater than 34 kV, we understand this Condition to be a mere typo.
Mayor Casillas, Vice Mayor Speake, and Councilmembers
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We are therefore requesting a waiver of these Conditions on the basis that the Existing Lines do not trigger the underground provisions of the City’s undergrounding ordinance and undergrounding would impose a significant burden on the Project in terms of both construction timing and costs.
Pursuant to the City’s undergrounding ordinance, “no person shall construct, install or place above the surface of the ground any poles, wires and associated structures, irrespective of the use or proposed use of the structure or building to be served thereby.” (CMC, § 15.60.030.) The policy behind the ordinance is to preserve and protect the health, safety, and general welfare of residents and the public at large as poles, wires, and associated structures may create dangerous situations or harm the City’s natural beauty and aesthetic environment. (Id., § 15.60.010.) A nonconforming utility facility, meaning a utility facility that is above-ground as of the effective date of the undergrounding ordinance, “may continue to be used and may be altered, enlarged or have additions thereto in its existing location without any provisions of [the ordinance] being applicable thereto.” (Id., § 15.60.080(A).) A nonconforming facility may only be terminated (i.e., brought into compliance through undergrounding) “when any building or structure to which [that] utility facility provides any service is enlarged or an addition is made thereto . . . .” (Id., §
15.60.080(A).)
Under these provisions, the Existing Lines do not trigger undergrounding. These lines currently exist above-ground, and so are a nonconforming use. The undergrounding ordinance states this nonconforming use “may continue to be used and may be altered, enlarged or have additions thereto in its existing location.” (CMC, § 15.60.080(A).) In addition, the Project does not trigger the termination provision of the undergrounding ordinance. Because these lines do not serve the Project site, construction at the Project will not enlarge or add to “any building or structure to which any [nonconforming] utility facility provides any service,”—the trigger for termination of a nonconforming, above-ground use. (Ibid.) Thus, the undergrounding ordinance does not require the nonconforming Existing Lines to be terminated. (See Ibid.)
In addition, the lot frontage of the Project site is only 500 feet and contains four utility poles. Outside of the Project frontage, the Existing Lines continue to the adjacent properties above-ground on other existing poles in both directions. The Existing Lines are owned and maintained by separate companies outside of Circle City control and approval for any design and construction of undergrounding this infrastructure would cause significant delays as well as uncertainty as to whether those approvals could be received.
Moreover, we estimate the undergrounding cost to be $500,000. Supporting documentation for this cost estimate will be provided under separate cover. This cost—together with the costs inherent in construction delays caused by the undergrounding itself—would render the Project financially infeasible.
Granting this waiver would not adversely impact public health or safety. In fact, it would positively impact health and safety by avoiding the installation of additional above-ground infrastructure known to reduce and obstruct the vision of motor vehicle operators and impair emergency response personnel. (See CMC, § 15.60.101(A).) It would also avoid introducing an additional blight on the natural beauty and aesthetic environment of the City. (Id., § 15.60.010(D).) Granting this waiver would be consistent with Mayor Casillas, Vice Mayor Speake, and Councilmembers
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the intent of the CMC provisions allowing relief where strict compliance would result in unnecessary hardship.
Thank you for your consideration of this request. We appreciate your attention to this matter and respectfully request your approval of this waiver request. Please do not hesitate to contact me at [email protected] or (510) 525-0062 or Ramon Rituerto Prieto, [email protected], (346) 319-0217, if you have any questions or need additional information.
Sincerely,
Renée Lousie Robin, J.D.
Director, Permitting & Planning
Engie North America
Attachments
cc: Jessica Kang, Associate Engineer ([email protected]) Maria Miranda, Senior Engineer ([email protected]) Jamie Raymond, Chief Deputy City Attorney ([email protected]) Ramon Rituerto Prieto, Project Manager, ENGIE, N.A. ([email protected])