California residents clash over a $30 million plan to put neighborhood power lines underground

A renewed debate in a Newport Beach neighborhood centers on overhead utility lines and whether residents should pay to place them underground.

In Newport Beach's Newport Heights, advocates say undergrounding would make service safer and more dependable.

Opponents counter that the expected price, averaging about $50,000 for each parcel, is simply too high.

Here's what to know

A new push is being organized by Newport Heights resident Mike Henn, a steering committee member of Safer Newport Heights. As the Daily Pilot reported, the group sent property owners a July 18 letter supporting undergrounding and is trying to win backing from about 60% of the nearly 600 owners in the assessment district.

If that threshold is met, city officials would prepare engineering information and cost estimates, then distribute those materials to property owners. The proposal would then move to a final vote, where a simple majority would be enough for approval.

The issue is familiar territory for Henn. While serving on the City Council, he helped advance a successful utility-undergrounding campaign on the Balboa Peninsula, where he lived in 2010.

He said, "There are three reasons to consider undergrounding: safety, reliability, and aesthetics. While I think the aesthetic improvement is important, safety and reliability are, by far, the important issues to me."

The petition pegs the full cost at about $30 million.

More background

Newport Heights is among the larger Newport Beach neighborhoods that still depend on utility poles, while other parts of the city have already buried lines or approved plans to do so.

Backers have emphasized fire prevention and other safety benefits in making their case. Those against the proposal say Newport Heights does not appear on the state's wildfire hazard map and that supporters are overstating the need for undergrounding.

Opponents have also set up a competing website under the name Newport Heights No Undergrounding Coalition. It argues the proposal is too expensive and more about appearance than necessity, and it cites Southern California Edison's Above Ground Initiative for lower-fire-risk areas, saying "above ground components are safer and more reliable."

Expense was also a major factor when a similar effort failed in 2016.

Newport Heights resident Simone Wilson said, "I just don't have spare money to spend on this. I can respect people's opinion who want this, but there are plenty of people who just can't afford it. Morally, it's not OK to force them."

What's being done?

As they promote the new petition, supporters say they are trying to ease those affordability worries. Henn has said installment payments could help make the cost more manageable, and proponents say that the City Council is considering a program for low- and fixed-income residents.

The dispute has also grown more heated. Opponents claim petition mailers included "deceptive promotional materials," that some photographs were digitally altered, and that one mailing left out pages explaining what residents were being asked to sign.

Henn said those complaints have been discussed with city officials and that Safer Newport Heights remains confident the effort will withstand review.

"When we talk to people, we usually have a package that includes the petition," he said. "We're confident that we will prevail over any and all of these allegations."

"What's the price of safety for myself, my family, and my home?" he said. "The right answer is to make this place safer and, along the way, if there's an aesthetic benefit, that's great."

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