What I Am Hearing From Del Mar Residents - Undergrounding

10/24/2026

One of my pledges is to be a City Councilmember who listens to residents throughout Del Mar and then does what is right for the entire community.

Over the past month, I have listened a lot. Residents are generally positive about our community but also voice concerns. I am sharing the concerns I have heard, my thoughts, as well as specifically what I would do if I have the privilege and responsibility of being a City Councilmember.

I previously shared residents’ concerns about new residential projects, Del Mar’ streets, and trains under Del Mar. Today, I am sharing another concern of residents – Why has undergrounding of utility lines not happened in my neighborhood?

I Repeatedly Hear Concerns About Why Undergrounding Throughout Del Mar Is Not Happening Sooner

Residents are rightfully concerned about undergrounding taking so long. The high potential cost and extended timeframe to complete undergrounding city-wide is well documented.

Underground is the largest and most complex capital improvement project ever undertaken in Del Mar. It involves a number of steps and coordination with various parties.

However, it should not take 23 more years for city-wide undergrounding – I believe we can do better!

Measure Q Sales Tax:

Measure Q was passed by residents in 2016. Measure Q is a 1% sales tax increase for Del Mar and is the funding mechanism for undergrounding. The “pitch” for supporting Measure Q was that undergrounding would cost $18 million and be accomplished in 10 years.
For close to 10 years, you and I have paid an extra 1% sales tax. Doesn’t sound like much but if you bought a $40,000 car you paid an extra $400 in sales tax.
Annual Measure Q revenue in 2025 was close to $4.0 million and total revenue collected from Measure Q through the end of Fiscal Year 2025 was $25.5 million.

Some Background About Undergrounding

Undergrounding Process:

Undergrounding consists of 4 stages:

District Formation: City Council establishes a District.
Design/Bidding Process: 12-24 month to design undergrounding.
Construction: 18-24 month to install undergrounding lines and remove poles/wires.
Construction: City construction of needed paving, sewer, water, and storm drain.

Status of Undergrounding:

The city has identified 9 districts. The list (Timeline: District/Number of Residences) below shows the target date for completion in each district.

Completed: District Tewa Court/10th Street: 31 residences (app)
Completed: District 1A Stratford Court South: 227 residences
April -June 2027: District X1A Crest Canyon: 152 residences
2028: District 1B Stratford Court North: 239 residences
2030: District 20A: Beach Colony (25th Street): Residences included in District 2.
2032: District 2: Beach Colony
2041: District 3: South Hill
2046: District 4: North Hill
2049: District 5: Lagoon

Since Measure Q passed 10 years ago, two things have happened. First, costs for undergrounding have skyrocketed from the original estimate of $18 million when Measure Q passed. In November, 2024 city-wide undergrounding was forecasted to be a staggering $209.8 million (including estimated financing costs)! Fortunately, estimated costs have now come down to $82.7 million (February 2026). While the lower cost is good news, the new forecasted cost is 4.5X more than originally planned, and that does not include the expenses paid by the individual property owners for their conduit lateral, connection, and electrical panel. Second, undergrounding is expected to take more time – until 2049 or 33 years from when Measure Q passed.

Two recent districts provide insight as to why it is taking so long.

District 1A (Stratford Court South) cost approximately $10 million with the design/administration component costing approximately $556,000 (5% of total cost). More important, District 1A took almost 5 years from district formation to project completion. Design/bidding took approximately 3 years (60% of the total time).
District X1A (Crest Canyon) is estimated to cost approximately $12.78 million with the design/administration component costing approximately $694,485 (5.4% of total cost). More important, District X1A is projected to take 5 ¼ years from district formation to project completion. Design/bidding took approximately 4 years (76% of total time).

The obvious takeaway is that the Design Phase/Bidding of each undergrounding District is a small component of the entire undergrounding cost (5.5%) of a given District. However, the Design Phase takes a huge portion of the overall timeframe (60-76%).

There are 3 key things about undergrounding:

With the completion of Crest Canyon undergrounding in 2027, Del Mar will have completed a small percentage of city-wide undergrounding. None of the “hill” or the Beach Colony has been undergrounded.
50% of Del Mar’s population is 55 and older (median age = 55.5). Over 30% are 65 and older*. The target completion date for the south hill is in 15 years (2041) and for the north hill 20 years (2046).
The simple truth is that median age residents who live “on the hill” will not see undergrounding until they are close to 70 and the 30% of residents 65 and older will not see undergrounding until they are in their 80s.

*: https://data.census.gov/profile/Del_Mar_city,_California?g=160XX00US0618506

What I Will Do as a City Councilmember

We have to look at ways of accelerating undergrounding so all residents can enjoy better views and increased safety.

First, we need to be smarter about how we approach undergrounding. The Design/Bidding Phase of each undergrounding district is only 5% of the total cost of undergrounding, however, it takes 60-75% of the total time for undergrounding. Rather than completing construction of a design district before starting to design the next district, I believe Del Mar can significantly accelerate undergrounding by initiating the design of all remaining districts immediately such that design for all of Del Mar is completed in 2 years. That way all of Del Mar is much closer to “shovel ready” for construction when funds are available. This is a simple common-sense approach that I believe will accelerate city-wide undergrounding by years.

Second, I am fiscally conservative and don’t like borrowing, However, having spent over 10 years on the City Finance Committee, I know the city can support additional borrowing. Therefore, I would support responsible borrowing for working capital for each District. I would carefully assess and would only support borrowing where I felt the city was on solid financial ground, revenues from Measure Q could easily repay the debt, where it made financial sense, and the benefits of borrowing outweighed the risks.

Third, I would make sure that at the conclusion of the undergrounding project for each District, all the torn-up streets be newly repaved curb to curb. There are efficiencies that we are not capturing from a public works approach, and residents should be left with new and improved roads as each district is completed.

I strongly believe that with a smarter approach to the undergrounding design and prudent borrowing, city-wide undergrounding can be achieved much quicker than 2049.

Del Mar residents should be free of unsightly and unsafe utility lines so they can enjoy the enhanced beauty of the beautiful place we call home.

Support/Donation

So why will it take 20-23 more years for city-wide undergrounding?

First, funding is one cause of the delay. The city council has proceeded with a “pay-as -you go” model. Del Mar does not start design/construction of a district unless it has the funds from Measure Q or, in the case of Crest Canyon, the city borrows a small amount of funds.

Second and more important, the city council has historically approached the undergrounding sequentially – the city completes undergrounding in a district before starting the major design work of a new district. The city took this approach because it had been advised that design for a given district had a short “shelf life” and construction had to begin within a certain timeframe. If construction did not timely begin – the design became “stale” and the city would have to do a complete re-design. That advice is not true – once the design reaches the 30% or beyond approval from SDG&E, the design standards are "looked in" and protected from further possible design standards updates, and the project can proceed without entire project resets. As noted above, the design/bidding phase is the “long pole” in undergrounding as it takes 3-4 years to complete vs 1 ½ - 2 years for construction. So simultaneously designing all districts to the 30% or beyond approval clearly shortens the undergrounding timeframe.

Contact

Reach out, I’m here to listen & chat.

Phone & Email

jeff@jgsturgis.com

+1-619-857-6857

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