6. Assignment of Proceeding

Dian M. Grueneich is the assigned Commissioner and Myra J. Prestidge is the assigned Administrative Law Judge in this proceeding.

1. The proposed 20-year lease/option agreement will not interfere with SCE's use of the property or its facilities or with service to SCE customers and the property will be utilized safely and in a manner consistent with Commission and legal requirements.

2. The project is located within the City of Long Beach.

3. The City has jurisdiction to determine whether the project meets local land use requirements and should be approved or disapproved.

4. On December 6, 2005, the City of Long Beach issued a Zoning Confirmation Letter which affirmed that the project qualifies as a permitted use in the IM zoning district as of right, and that no discretionary City permits for the project are required.

5. The City did not perform environmental review of the project pursuant to CEQA, because no discretionary decision by the City was required for project approval.

6. The City did not act as the Lead Agency for environmental review of the project pursuant to CEQA.

7. The Commission is generally a Responsible Agency under CEQA for Section 851 applications.

8. Since the Commission must make a discretionary decision in determining whether to grant this application for approval of a transaction under Section 851, CEQA review of the project is required.

9. The Commission has prepared the following environmental documents for this project pursuant to CEQA:

· The Draft Mitigated Negative Declaration (MND), dated September 2009;

· The Final MND, dated January 2010;

· The Notice of Intent to Adopt an MND and the State Clearinghouse acknowledgement letter dated January 12, 2010; and

· The California Department of Fish and Game Certificate of Fee Exemption, dated February 17, 2010.

10. The draft MND was made available for public review and comment for 30 days, between December 7, 2009 and January 8, 2010.

11. In evaluating the project, the Final MND concluded that potential environmental impacts in the following areas were less than significant: aesthetics, agricultural resources, air quality, biological resources, hydrology and water quality, land use and planning, mineral resources, noise, population and housing, public services, recreation, transportation/traffic, and utilities and service systems.

12. The Final MND found potentially significant impacts that could be mitigated to less than significant levels in the following areas: cultural resources (human remains), geology and soils (seismic related ground failure including liquefaction, substantial soil erosion or loss of topsoil), and hazards and hazardous materials (hazards to public or environment through the use or release of hazardous materials).

13. Required mitigation measures to reduce impacts on cultural resources (human remains impacts) include the suspension of work and coroner notification if human remains are uncovered.

14. Required mitigation measures to reduce geological impacts include submittal of geotechnical reports to the City and the Commission.

15. Required mitigation measures to reduce soil impacts include submittal to the Commission of adoption of best management practices statements, storm water pollution prevention plan, and the filing of a Notice of Intent with the Los Angeles Regional Water Quality Control Board.

16. The required mitigation measures are feasible.

17. The required mitigation measures will either eliminate or substantially reduce the impacts to less than significant levels.

18. Rent received by SCE from the Flying M under the lease will be treated as OOR from a "passive" revenue source and will be allocated among shareholders and ratepayers on a 70%/30% basis pursuant to D.99-09-070.

19. The proposed lease will generate substantial lease revenues for the benefit of SCE ratepayers.

20. The proposed lease will allow productive use of the site without interfering with SCE's existing use of the property for its transmission and substation facilities.

1. CEQA review is required when a public agency that is responsible for approving or supervising all or some aspect of the project under its jurisdiction makes a discretionary decision regarding the project.

2. Since the City did not perform environmental review of the project and did not act as the Lead Agency, and the Commission must make a discretionary decision regarding this application, the Commission is responsible for carrying out environmental review of the project and acts as the Lead Agency under CEQA.

3. The Commission has met the requirement for a 30-day public review and comment period for the MND.

4. The draft MND, final MND and the mitigation monitoring plan for the project comply with the requirements of CEQA.

5. The final MND reasonably concludes that any significant adverse environmental impacts of the projects can be eliminated or mitigated to less than a significant level, so long as the required mitigation measures are implemented.

6. The Commission has reviewed the environmental documents prepared for the project pursuant to CEQA and finds them adequate for our decision making purposes.

7. Consistent with Section 851, SCE's conveyance of the lease to the Flying M will serve the public interest and should be approved.

ORDER

IT IS ORDERED that:

1. Southern California Edison Company is authorized pursuant to Public Utilities Code Section 851 to convey a lease across 13.45 acres on its Hinson-Lighthipe Right of Way property located in the City of Long Beach, California to the Flying M Ranch, LLC as described in this decision.

2. Southern California Edison Company shall file an advice letter that contains a legal description of the property leased to the Flying M Ranch, LLC pursuant to this order with the California Public Utilities Commission Energy Division within 60 days.

3. Southern California Edison Company shall treat compensation received from the Flying M Ranch, LLC under the lease as other operating revenue received from a "passive" revenue source pursuant to Decision 99-09-070 and shall allocate this revenue between shareholders and ratepayers on a 70%/30% basis, unless directed otherwise in a future California Public Utilities Commission order.

4. Southern California Edison Company shall amend its option agreement and any subsequent lease with the Flying M Ranch, LLC to require advance California Public Utilities Commission approval of any proposed assignment, transfer, sublease, or mortgage of the lease that would alter the lease terms or change the use of the property to other than as a trailer-parking facility on the entire site.

5. If the Flying M Ranch, LLC wishes to utilize the property for any purposes other than the uses analyzed in the environmental documents prepared by the City and relied upon by the California Public Utilities Commission in this decision, Southern California Edison Company shall first apply for California Public Utilities Commission authorization pursuant to Public Utilities Code Section 851, undergo any required environmental review, and apply for any required local approvals. Southern California Edison Company shall amend its option agreement and any subsequent lease with the Flying M Ranch, LLC to include this requirement.

6. Since the Mitigated Negative Declaration, the mitigation monitoring plan, and the other environmental documents are adequate for our decision making purposes and comply with the requirements of California Environmental Quality Act, we approve and adopt the Mitigated Negative Declaration and the mitigation monitoring plan prepared by the California Public Utilities Commission as the Lead Agency for the project.

7. Application 08-02-021 is closed.

This order is effective today.

Dated June 3, 2010, at San Francisco, California.

Previous PageTop Of PageGo To First Page