Santa Clarita Residents to Discuss Proposed Dump

Santa Clarita Valley community leaders are planning to meet next week to assess the effect of a proposed waste dump in Newhall where the City of Los Angeles could dispose of its trash for the next 50 years.

“It’s premature for us to come out with a lot of negatives now,” said Connie Worden, a member of a task force on solid-waste management formed by the Santa Clarita Valley and Canyon Country chambers of commerce. “We’re going to put together some sort of meeting to see if we need be concerned.”

Will Reach Capacity in 1993

The plan to dump trash in Elsmere Canyon near the Antelope Valley and Golden State freeways came to light at Wednesday’s meeting of the Los Angeles City Council. The council voted to study the Santa Clarita Valley proposal, unveiled by Councilmen Hal Bernson and Marvin Braude.

Opening the Elsmere Canyon site would remove pressure to dump trash at Mission Canyon in the Santa Monica Mountains and Sunshine Canyon in the San Fernando Valley, Braude said.

Sanitation officials have predicted that existing city dumps may be filled by 1993 and the city must find somewhere to put its trash. But proposals to reopen Mission Canyon and to expand Sunshine Canyon have been strongly opposed by nearby homeowners.

“The time has come when it is no longer appropriate to stick garbage in populated areas,” Bernson said Wednesday.

Although there are no homes next to the Elsmere Canyon site, Worden, in an interview Thursday, warned that a dump there could have detrimental effects on Santa Clarita Valley residents.

“I would like to know what type of dump is planned,” Worden said. “I would like to know how many tons a year they plan to dump. There are many unknowns right now.”

Worden is a member of the Los Angeles County Solid Waste Management Committee and a leader of the Santa Clarita City Formation Committee.

Jan Heidt, another task force member, said she is upset about the City Council’s action.

“What kind of hypocrisy is this?” she said. “It’s their garbage, not ours.”

Suggests Expansion

Heidt said other cities besides Los Angeles dump their garbage at Sunshine Canyon, making it a regional facility.

“I think a better alternative would be to expand that,” she said. “There are other options here.”

Heidt, head of the Santa Clarita Valley Homeowners Coalition, said she is especially concerned about increased truck traffic that the dump would generate on the Antelope Valley Freeway.

She also pointed out that a tract of more than 5,000 homes is being constructed less than a mile from the site.

Rita Garasi, a third task force member, said she believes it is premature to criticize the city’s plan before “we know what’s going on.” Residents will accomplish that through the task force’s research, she said.

Need for Study

Hunt Braley, an aide to state Sen. Ed Davis (R-Valencia), said the senator agrees with the chambers that a committee to study the dump proposal should be formed.

“The Santa Clarita Valley needs to be included in the decision-making process,” he said.

JoAnne Darcy, field deputy to Supervisor Mike Antonovich, who represents the area, said the supervisor will ensure that Santa Clarita Valley residents have their say.

“Lots of things have to be done before this dump could open,” she said. “We have to be sure it’s safe for the people of the Santa Clarita Valley.”

Darcy said the dump, if approved, probably would not open until 1990.