«MAILOWNER» August 4, 2023
«MAILADDR»
«MAILCSTZ4»
Official City Survey – Underground Utility Assessment Districts (UUAD) Dear Property Owner,
Your response to the survey on the back side of this letter will help the City determine the current level of SUPPORT FOR or OPPOSITION TO undergrounding utilities in your area . The information gathered from this survey will be used to establish the boundaries and prioritization of future utility undergrounding districts in the City of Manhattan Beach.
Utility undergrounding is the process of placing all overhead wires and cables (including power, telephone, data, and cable TV), and facilities such as electrical transformers and switches, underground.
The City does not currently own, operate , or maintain any overhead electrical or communications infrastructure. Rather, this infrastructure belongs to various utility companies, including Southern California Edison, Charter/Spectrum, Frontier, Crown Castle, and AT&T.
Underground Utility Assessment Districts (UUADs) are initiated and formed by property owners in a given area who are interested in paying for the undergrounding of the overhead utilities in their neighborhood.
For detailed information regarding the utility undergrounding process, please visit the City’s website at www.manhattanbeach.gov/UUAD. This page contains useful resources including:
The Utility Undergrounding in the City of Manhattan Beach Fact Booklet (PDF) which contains a map of completed and active districts, a summary of assessments levied against the properties in those districts, and other useful facts relating to the formation and financing of an undergrounding district.
The Steps for Forming a Private Residential UUAD (PDF) which provides the procedures that must be undertaken to form a district and identifies the required thresholds for various phases within that process.
If yo u have questions prior to filling out this survey, please contact me at (310) 802 -5357 or [email protected].
Sincerely,
Bianca Cardenas
Associate Engineer
Return By: FRIDAY, AUGUST 25TH, 2023
Please note that voting in this survey does not automatically move forward the process for utility undergrounding.
OFFICIAL SURVEY
This is not a Ballot or Bill
Survey Code: «CODE»
Assessor Parcel Number: «APNSTRING»
Owner Name: «MAILOWNER»
Property Address: «SITUSADDR»
Assuming the estimated cost ranges provided below, would you be interested in having your property at «SITUSADDR» included in an Underground Utility Assessment District? Estimated Range of Assessment Amounts (per parcel, in today’s dollars)1: $30,000 - $60,000 Estimated Range of Private Conversion Costs (per parcel, in today’s dollars)2: $10,000 - $20,000
___
Yes, I would consider supporting utility
undergrounding given these estimated costs.
___
No, I am opposed to owner-funded utility
undergrounding given these estimated costs.
________________ ________________________________ ____________________________________ Date Owner Printed Name Owner Signature
1 Apportionment of undergrounding costs is not directly attributable to parcel size. However, larger parcels within a district are generally assessed greater amounts than smaller parcels. Individual assessments are determined based on the amount of benefit a parcel receives relative to other parcels within the district. Assessments can be paid upfront in cash after a UUAD is formed, or they can be applied to an individual’s property tax bill for a period of 20 years.
2 In addition to the assessment, each homeowner may or may not incur additional private property expenses. Conversion expenses depend on property characteristics such as the trenching distance needed from the front property line to the house connection point.
Since every house is unique, the Cit y is not able to accurately estimate what this additional cost will be for individual homes.
Properties with existing underground utility connections generally have no private conversion costs or very low conversion co sts relative to those properties with existing overhead connections. Private property conversion expenses cannot be financed in conjunction with the proposed assessment unless the homeowner qualifies for a City-sponsored deferment program.
The survey must be completed by the property owner to be considered valid. Only one survey may be submitted for each legal parcel. If you own multiple properties, a separate survey must be submitted for each property.
Surveys must be completed online OR returned by Friday, August 25th and can be submitted using one of the methods listed below.
Complete online by visiting www.manhattanbeach.gov/uuadsurvey or scanning the QR code at right; or
Scan or photograph this form and e-mail to: [email protected]; or Drop off to the front desk of Manhattan Beach City Hall at 1400 Highland Avenue.