The Los Angeles City Council approved a motion Friday seeking to restore a so-called utilitarian street light program to illuminate hillsides, alleyways and other places where traditional infrastructure may be difficult to construct.
In a 11-0 vote, the council instructed the Bureau of Street Lighting and the Department of Water and Power to report on the necessary requirements to bring back the program. The initiative allows the city to install street lights on existing power poles.
Council members Traci Park, Heather Hutt, Nithya Raman and Monica Rodriguez were absent during the vote.
City Councilwoman Eunisses Hernandez, who introduced the motion Feb. 4, noted the initiative was stalled after the City Council and Mayor Karen Bass eliminated the position that coordinates the program during budget discussions for fiscal year 2025-26.
While the Bureau of Street Lighting manages the city’s primary street light system, DWP manages utilitarian street lights. Historically, the bureau has coordinated requests for the power pole lights, but the loss of the position has made that work difficult, according to Hernandez’s motion.
The bureau reported that existing city code limits their ability to work on utilitarian lighting because they are on DWP infrastructure.
“One of the biggest complaints that we all get in every district is street lights. Street lighting is a basic service and a critical part of our public safety ecosystem,” Hernandez said. “If the lights are out, people feel unsafe.”
She emphasized that it’s important to restore the utilitarian street light program as one of several ways to turn on the lights back across the city.
Her colleagues, such as City Council members Ysabel Jurado, Hugo Soto-Martinez, Katy Yaroslavsky and Park, have used discretionary funding from their respective offices to fund dedicated street light repair teams for their districts.
Meanwhile, the city has also taken steps to crack down on copper wire theft, which has also contributed to darkened streets. Additionally, Mayor Karen Bass and the City Council have invested in converting street lights from electric to solar-powered.
“We’re paying out millions in liability claims tied to neglected infrastructure. Deferred maintenance, as we all know, is very expensive,” Hernandez said. “Investing in basis isn’t radical, it’s fiscally responsible.”
She added, “Our constituents don’t care which department owns the pole, they just want to the street lights to work.”
Utilitarian lights can be installed in alleys or narrow streets, where the installation of standard street lights would be infeasible, and can be deployed where more permanent street lights have not been installed, and may not be installed in the near future, according to Hernandez’s motion.
The motion called for the bureau and DWP with assistance from the City Attorney’s Office to discuss further code amendments or interagency agreements to improve the utilitarian street lights program as well.