Final Vote on Landfill Expansion Set for Dec. 8

LOS ANGELES — The City Council set additional conditions Wednesday for the expansion of Sunshine Canyon Landfill in Granada Hills, including a mandate that trash trucks eventually be converted to clean fuels. But the council delayed a final vote on the dump until Dec. 8.

In addition to the truck conversion rules, the council voted unanimously to include a sunset clause that would require Browning-Ferris Industries (BFI) to reapply in 10 years to continue operating the landfill.

The council also agreed to require that video cameras be installed to monitor operations, that half of the franchise fees collected from BFI go to a trust fund to benefit Granada Hills and that BFI post a bond to indemnify the city against claims by residents involving air and water pollution.

With two key supporters absent, it was uncertain whether there were eight votes Wednesday to give final approval to the zoning change, so the action was delayed. The initial vote last month was 9-5 in favor of allowing BFI to reopen a section of the landfill it operated until 1991.

Wayde Hunter, president of the North Valley Coalition, said the new conditions are not enough to cause his group to drop its vehement opposition to the zoning change.

Chief Legislative Analyst Ron Deaton reported to the council that Sunshine Canyon Landfill is the least expensive alternative for disposing of the city’s trash.

But coalition member Mary Edwards charged that the council was putting money ahead of public health. Edwards was one of about 50 opponents who attended the two-hour council discussion.