As if the sea breezes, proximity to fantastic beaches, and amazing homes weren't enough, now the rich bastards in Manhattan Beach are undergrounding their utilities so they don't have to look at them like the rest of us swine in the inland hell. But of course the wealthy have their limits too, thus a mini-revolt is afoot to allow some property owners who don't want to pay for the undergrounding to "opt-out." Via the Beach Reporter:
Currently the city does not have a formal opt-out policy, but several residents are vehemently opposed to the high cost of undergrounding and have sued the city, stalling undergrounding in districts 2 and 6, along with asking city officials to let them opt out of the project. Those in favor of undergrounding argued that an opt-out policy is just another tactic of those opposed to stall the projects and would ultimately make undergrounding more expensive. With the estimated assessment per property ranging anywhere from $7,000 to $60,000, undergrounding has become very controversial.
Thanks to the reader who emailed the links. We agree, we should all be so fortunate to live without wires. But not if it costs so much.
· Council discusses undergrounding ‘opt-out’ [The Beach Reporter]
· Undergrounding Sepulveda to get under way [The Beach Reporter]