City of Anaheim v. Department of Transportation

The City of Anaheim (the City), which operates its own electric utility, was required by the California Department of Transportation (Caltrans) to relocate certain electrical transmission facilities to accommodate a freeway widening project. Caltrans is obligated under the Streets and Highways Code to pay for the relocation, but is entitled to a credit against its liability for the amount of any “betterment” to the relocated facilities. The City relocated the transmission facilities by undergrounding them because its municipal code generally requires undergrounding of utilities for aesthetic and safety reasons. At issue in this case is whether Caltrans was obligated to pay the full costs of undergrounding the facilities, or whether it was entitled to a credit for the betterment of the facilities due to the undergrounding. We agree with the trial court that the undergrounding constituted a “betterment,” and Caltrans did not abuse its discretion by claiming a credit for the relocation costs attributable to the betterment of the facilities. Accordingly, we affirm.

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LAW

We depart from our normal practice of first discussing the facts and procedure. We find it useful to…