Bernson, Homeowners Press L.A. to Close Dump

Los Angeles City Councilman Hal Bernson and homeowners living near the Sunshine Canyon Landfill called on the city Monday to shut down the dump, but its owner said the site is safe and operators are attentive to community concerns.

“Please close the dump. Not next year. . . . It’s full. Close it now,” Bernson said at an emotional public hearing attended by about 300 people at John F. Kennedy High School in Granada Hills.

The hearing was called by the city zoning administrator in response to Bernson’s claim that the Granada Hills dump is a public nuisance and has violated conditions imposed in 1966, when the city granted a zoning variance allowing it to operate.

A variance is required to operate a private landfill in the city on land zoned for other than heavy industrial use. The Sunshine Canyon Landfill is on land zoned for agricultural use, said John J. Parker, associate zoning administrator, who conducted the hearing.

Bernson, whose district includes the dump, contended that it is a nuisance because it emits foul odors, causes a litter problem and pollutes the air, the ground and nearby O’Melveny Park--the second largest park in the city. Bernson also contended that the dump has lowered real estate values in northern Granada Hills.

Dump Monitored

Dean Wise, district manager for Browning-Ferris Industries, which owns the dump, said the landfill’s managers have worked hard to make it safe. Employees are trained to screen for hazardous waste, Wise said, and the dump is monitored for radioactive materials.

Browning-Ferris has installed fences, nets and other devices and continually sprays water to control dust and litter, Wise said. The company also has planted trees and hired specialists to plant other vegetation.

But residents who live near the Santa Susana Mountains dump complained that problems have continued.

Bernson accused Browning-Ferris of denying city inspectors access to the property.

A city survey team last week determined that the dump has a ridgeline of 1,779 feet, 79 feet above the limit allowed by the city, Bernson said. The ridgeline has been created by trash covered by fill dirt.

Access Denied

City surveyors took the measurements from across the street after they were denied access to the site, Bernson said.

“I wonder, Mr. Wise, what did you have to hide?” Bernson asked.

Don Mullally, caretaker of O’Melveny Park, said the dump is harming nearby wilderness areas. Frequent wind gusts stir up dirt from the dump, causing “dust so thick in the park that my eyes burn and itch . . . in the windy season,” he said.

Parker told the audience it will be at least two months before any action is taken, ranging from permanently shutting the site to requiring operators to correct any problems.

Whatever Parker’s decision, it will probably be appealed to the Board of Zoning Appeals and ultimately to the City Council, said Grieg Smith, an aide to Bernson.

Browning-Ferris has applied to the city and Los Angeles County for permission to expand the landfill by 760 acres. The dump is within the city, but would expand northwest into county territory.

The proposed expansion would allow the dump to take in almost triple its current 6,600 tons of trash per day and allow it to operate well into the 21st Century. Without the expansion, it will be filled by 1991, when its conditional use permit from the city expires.

Although technically the dump does not accept hazardous waste, residents said poisonous materials are taken with normal household trash. On one occasion last year, during a random check, state inspectors found a 55-gallon drum of hazardous waste at the site, Bernson said.