If you live within City of Los Angeles boundaries, this information is right for you if you are planning to start your swimming pool and/or related structures construction soon. Independent cities such as Simi Valley, Santa Clarita, Burbank, West Hollywood, La Canada Flintridge, Glendale and County of LA and others, have their own requirements, please call us to inquire into your specific location, all cities must comply with the most current Building Code but follow their own rules and regulations.

Eventually, all poles and transformers will require maintenance or upgrading for reliability and for the safety of the community. So, one of the conditions of electrical service is access to LADWP facilities, which is generally five (5) feet of unobstructed access.

SWIMMING POOLS AND SPAS:

New swimming pools and spas must be constructed outside of any easement or right-of-way permit and no portion of the water shall be under the high voltage lines. The Los Angeles Department of Building and Safety will ask for an approved encroachment permit from the LADWP, but it may not be until excavation has been completed which may cost the owner time and money. This applies to any body of water greater that 18” in depth. Most of the easements are 5′ from the rear property line, but in order to avoid the encroachment application process you would need to have an additional 10’1” from the 5′ easement (15’1” total), which most of the properties in Los Angeles, don’t have.

LANDSCAPE:

Everyone loves a nicely landscaped yard but think ahead when planting around utility poles or under overhead power lines. Tall growing trees are never a good idea under wires as they may cause power outages if there is contact with a power line. Also, all utility poles will eventually need replacement, so any plants and foliage surrounding it will be destroyed.

The process is tedious and long, here are four steps to follow to succeed in the process:

1. Prepare your site plan to scale and have 2 copies ready to submit to LADWP (this could be done before or after obta3ining your LADBS permit application number), these sets must be mailed to the Real State Division or deliver in person to LADWP.
2. You must fill out an encroachment application, the application is free of cost to the LADWP customer.
3. Be patient and follow up, current processing times can be up to 4 months.
4. LADWP inspector may require a site visit to conclude the process. Once your encroachment application has been approved, you can resume your building application process with LADBS.

If you are planning construction near LADWP power lines and equipment, or in proximity to utility easements, contact LADWP directly, we can assist you as best as we can but please keep in mind every job, every situation, every site is different, we hold no control over such requirements, inspector may require additional work or modifications to existing plans that can generate extra fees and construction costs.

As your pool contractor, we start this process on your behalf until encroachment application has been approved, then we continue with your building permit process.

I know working with the City may sound difficult and scary, it is important to hire a professional to handle all applications and permits so your construction project doesn’t become affected and delayed, just for saving a couple of bucks you could be at risk of unnecessary big expenses.