IV. Determination of Best Secondary Use

The utility's objective in selecting secondary uses for utility sites is to find uses that provide the greatest revenue consistent with the utility's obligations to maintain safety and reliability of its facilities. The facilities located on the Site are used in the distribution of electricity to homes and businesses throughout the City of Agoura Hills. Because of the presence of above-ground power lines crossing the Site, secondary uses of the 2.1 acre utility site are limited by operating restrictions and height clearances.

To evaluate possible secondary uses for this type of property, SCE conducted a survey of the "secondary use" policies of nine utilities across the nation. The survey revealed that those utilities had identified four possible uses for the unused portions of their operating properties; auto parking, recreational vehicle storage, equipment storage and self storage.

To determine the best use for the Site, SCE solicited development proposals from the real estate market through an open request for proposal process. SCE's subsequent communications with the City of Agoura Hills (City) about development of the Site, indicated the City's unwillingness to grant access to the Site from Kanan Road. This decision rendered the Site virtually landlocked for secondary use purposes. Under this circumstance, SCE determined that the adjacent owner's parking lot and office facility proposal offered the only potential revenues for this particular site.