The Santa Clarita City Council’s Legislative Committee updated its 2025 advocacy platform with what city officials described as a few relatively minor tweaks, proposing changes on city stances for utility advocacy, high-speed rail and national monuments.  The platform lists the city’s established policy positions, so Santa Clarita’s elected officials and staff can “act quickly in reaching out to legislators, executive branch elected officials, and legislative, administrative, or regulatory staff,” according to the city’s agenda for the Nov. 12 meeting.   The agenda is organized annually by Masis Hagobian, the city’s intergovernmental relations officer, based on the direction of the council’s actions throughout the year, and the committee’s members, who are outgoing Mayor Cameron Smyth and Councilman Jason Gibbs.  The slate for the following year is traditionally approved in December, with the discussion this year set for Dec. 10.  Hagobian said this year’s changes are “pretty minor in nature,” with the only new federal addition as support for legislation or administrative action designating the Northern Angeles National Forest as a national monument, which the city called for in the spring.   “That was reflective of City Council action that was taken earlier this year,” he said.  The agenda also calls for the city to maintain its support for expanding the San Gabriel Mountains National Monument where possible.  PSPS change  Despite enduring days of power shutoffs once again this year during wind storms, with some city residents complaining their power was off for three days, legislative efforts to end the public safety power shutoffs appear to no longer be the focus of the city’s platform.  Hagobian said the change was about what is “actually happening” at Southern California Edison and the “investments that they’re making in covered conductor more so than just undergrounding.”  When there is a significantly high fire danger for an area, SoCal Edison can shut off the power to an area in order “to prevent our electric system from becoming a source of ignition,” according to its website.  The shutoffs, which disproportionately impact rural communities in the SCV — and any other homes relying on cellphone reception and well water — were once targeted unsuccessfully by legislation from outgoing state Sen. Scott Wilk, R-Santa Clarita, in 2020. His legislative package, which died in the Assembly, would have called on the utilities to provide backup power for residents affected.  The new language in the city platform strikes support for only undergrounding, or putting power cables underground, and replaces it with support for “replacing overhead bare wire with covered conductor and” undergrounding, with the idea being to reduce, not prevent the use of the controversial shutoffs, per the language.  High-speed at some point  The other change to the state platform’s language is an update for the wording of the city’s advocacy on the Palmdale-to-Burbank section of the planned high-speed rail track, which still appears to be years away from actual construction.  The city removed language that opposed “alignment proposals that are not fully underground within the Palmdale to Burbank project section or otherwise,” after the state announced its preferred route for the project called for underground tunneling through sensitive areas.   Now that the state has decided its train path, which won’t come through the Santa Clarita Valley, the effort is making sure there are no negative impacts for the area.  The section of the route is expected to traverse about 34 miles in approximately 13 minutes, with 17 minutes of total trip time, according to the California High Speed Rail Authority website.  “Trains operating along the preferred alternative would be underground through the community of Acton, the Angeles National Forest and the San Gabriel Mountains National Monument,” according to the state’s website. SR14A (the preferred alternative) is also underground where it crosses the Pacifi­c Crest Trail, avoiding impacts to the trail. Through the northern portion of the San Fernando Valley, SR14A is in a tunnel and emerges near the Hansen Dam Spreading Grounds, and then follows the Metrolink/Union Pacifi­c corridor to Burbank.”  The post City reviews its legislative platform  appeared first on Santa Clarita Valley Signal.