Council advances motion to explore repurposing street-lighting conduit for fiber and EV charging

The Los Angeles City Council voted to advance a motion to explore repurposing existing street-lighting conduit for high-speed internet, EV charging and smart-transportation infrastructure. Councilmember Tim Hernandez said copper theft makes traditional street-light maintenance costly and described solar-to-battery conversions in Westlake North and Historic Filipino Town as successful pilots. Hernandez argued that converting empty conduit could “generate additional revenue” and save capital expenditures.

Councilmember Hernandez also told the council that the Bureau of Street Lighting (BSL) has already delivered more than 800 electric-vehicle charging stations and more than 700 miles of high-capacity fiber conduit, framing the motion as an opportunity to leverage existing city assets in public-private and nonprofit partnerships. Councilmember Nazarian seconded the motion.

The item was put to a roll call and the clerk recorded numerical vote figures on the floor; the transcript shows a roll call entry with the numbers "12" and "5" during tabulation and later records for a separate special-item vote a roll result read as "10 ayes, 2 noes" with a subsequent on-the-record clarification that an item was adopted with "9 ayes and 3 no's." Because the transcript contains inconsistent on-the-floor vote reporting for closely timed roll calls, the record in chambers confirms the motion was advanced and the item adopted for further consideration; transcript tabulation notes are included in the action record below.