California residents debate $30 million plan to move neighborhood power lines underground

Newport Heights faces a costly choice

Utility poles are drawing fresh attention in Newport Heights. Some residents want the lines placed underground. They say buried lines could improve safety and reliability. Others say the price is far too high.

The proposed work could cost about $30 million. That works out to roughly $50,000 per parcel. The debate is now gaining new momentum. Residents are being asked to consider the tradeoffs carefully.

A new push gathers resident support

Resident Mike Henn is helping lead the latest campaign. He serves on the steering committee for Safer Newport Heights. The group sent property owners a letter on July 18. It urged residents to support undergrounding.

The group hopes to gain backing from about 60% of owners. The district includes nearly 600 properties. That support would allow the city to move forward. The effort is still seeking enough signatures.

Petition support is only the starting point

Reaching the support threshold would not automatically approve undergrounding in Newport Heights. Under Newport Beach’s assessment-district process, a petition with enough owner interest moves the proposal into a formal engineering and cost-review stage.

That review would identify the proposed assessment for each property before ballots are mailed. Property owners would still vote on whether to form the district, so the petition would only move the proposal forward, not make the final decision.

Henn points to an earlier campaign

The issue is not new for Mike Henn. He previously served on the Newport Beach City Council. He previously lived on the Balboa Peninsula and served on the Newport Beach City Council. He helped advance an undergrounding campaign there.

That earlier effort eventually succeeded. Henn now says safety and reliability are key reasons. He also sees an aesthetic benefit from removing poles. His experience is shaping his support for Newport Heights.

Fun fact: California’s undergrounding programs have converted more than 73,500 miles of distribution lines since the late 1960s.

Underground lines have tradeoffs too

Undergrounding can reduce some risks tied to overhead poles and wires, including damage from wind, vehicles or vegetation contact. CPUC also notes that underground systems can improve reliability in some cases.

But the benefits are not absolute. CPUC says underground faults can be harder to locate, restoration may take longer, and underground facilities can face flooding or vault-related safety risks. That makes the proposal a tradeoff rather than a simple upgrade.

Opponents question the need and price

Opponents say the proposed cost is too high for residents. They argue the project is more about appearance than necessity. Some also point to official fire-hazard mapping to challenge whether wildfire risk is a strong enough reason for undergrounding in Newport Heights.

A competing group calls itself the Newport Heights No Undergrounding Coalition. Its website argues against the project. The group also cites Southern California Edison guidance. Opponents say that guidance supports keeping some equipment above ground.

The neighborhood has seen similar debate

Newport Heights is one of Newport Beach’s larger areas with utility poles. Other parts of the city have already buried lines. Some neighborhoods have also approved plans to do so. That history adds context to the current debate.

Residents are comparing local conditions with nearby projects. They are also weighing expected benefits against household costs. The neighborhood’s experience makes the proposal part of a larger city discussion. The latest campaign is bringing those questions back into focus.

Fun fact: About 33% of California’s 220,590 miles of electric distribution lines are underground.

A past effort still shapes the debate

Newport Heights has already gone through a similar fight. A 2016 undergrounding effort failed after property owners rejected the plan, and cost was one of the central objections at the time.

That history matters because the current proposal carries a much larger estimated burden. The latest plan is pegged at about $30 million across roughly 600 properties, or around $50,000 per parcel, making the new campaign part of a years-long neighborhood dispute rather than a first-time debate.

Affordability may divide property owners

For some Newport Heights owners, the question is not whether undergrounding would improve the neighborhood, but whether they can absorb another major property cost.

That concern has followed the issue since the earlier 2016 effort, when affordability was already part of the opposition.

Supporters have pointed to installment payments as one possible way to soften the burden. Still, financing would not erase the cost; it would spread payments over time, likely through property-tax assessments if the district were approved.

Assessments could follow the property

Newport Beach says undergrounding assessments can be paid in cash or financed through bond sales after a 30-day cash payment period. If financed, annual principal, interest, and administrative fees are collected through the property tax bill.

The city also notes that an assessment lien attaches to the property and can transfer to a new owner unless it is paid off before a sale. That makes the financing structure an important part of the debate, especially for owners thinking about long-term costs or resale.

Undergrounding would bring visible construction work

Undergrounding would involve more than removing poles and wires. Newport Beach says this work can include trenching, laying underground conduit, installing utility vaults, backfilling, repaving streets, and removing overhead equipment.

Property owners would also be responsible for private conversion work that connects their property to the underground system. That means the final impact would depend not only on the public right-of-way work, but also on what each parcel needs to complete its own connection.

Could planned power interruptions become another safety concern for California communities? See why residents have pushed back against power shutoffs during extreme heat.

Residents now face a community decision

Newport Heights residents are weighing safety, reliability, appearance and cost. The campaign needs strong support before city officials develop the next stage.

Owners would then receive engineering and financial information. A final majority vote would decide the proposal.

Supporters see undergrounding as a long-term neighborhood investment. Opponents see the price as too difficult to justify. The decision will ultimately rest with participating property owners. For residents, the debate comes down to benefits, risks and affordability.

Could planned power shutoffs raise similar concerns about reliability for California residents? See why residents have criticized planned outages during extreme heat.

Would you pay about $50,000 to put your neighborhood’s utility lines underground? Tell us what you think in the comments.

This slideshow was made with AI assistance and human editing.

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