West Covina : Panelist Asked to Resign

The City Council has voted to ask Nancy Adin to resign from the city’s Transition/Waste Management Commission after she wrote a letter to a newspaper criticizing a proposed plan for the BKK landfill and adjoining property.

Mayor Chester Shearer said that the letter indicated that Adin had “prematurely passed judgment” and showed that “no matter what BKK proposed, she would be against it.” Adin has a right to her opinion as a private citizen, he said, but her letter was inappropriate for a city commissioner.

He said that if Adin does not resign, the council has the power to remove her.

Adin said she will decide what action to take after she receives a letter from the city.

Adin criticized the BKK plan for its emphasis on development that would produce “financial gains,” saying planners should consider recreation and other uses that would enhance the lives of residents.

Adin said she does not fully understand the council’s reaction but believes that “they don’t want anyone saying anything negative.”

A planning firm hired by the cities of West Covina and Walnut has proposed office buildings, homes, commercial buildings and a golf course for 1,207 acres owned by the Corp. in the two cities. The property includes the 583-acre landfill.

In West Covina both the Transition/Waste Management Commission and the Planning Commission have been asked by the council to review the proposal.

The five-member Transition/Waste Management Commission was formed by the city to encourage BKK to close its landfill and find other uses for the property.