Santa Clarita Sites : L.A. Supports Ban on Houses Near Landfills

Los Angeles City Council members Tuesday threw their support behind state legislation that would preserve remote Elsmere and Towsley canyons in the Santa Clarita Valley as possible garbage dumps.

The bill by state Sen. Alan Robbins (D-Tarzana) would prohibit building of homes within half a mile of an existing or proposed dump site.

It would apply statewide, but was introduced at the request of Los Angeles City Councilman Hal Bernson to protect Elsmere and Towsley canyons from “encroachment by residential uses.” Los Angeles is viewing both canyons for possible landfills.

Bernson said the legislation would prevent the kind of strong homeowner opposition that led to the closing of Mission Canyon Landfill in Sepulveda Pass and threatens to block the proposed expansion of Lopez Canyon and Sunshine Canyon dumps in the north San Fernando Valley.

Lopez Canyon Landfill opened in 1975. As more and more homes have been built near the dump--including one house 20 feet from the landfill’s boundary--the protests over noise, odors and truck traffic have grown louder.

“We feel it’s important that when new landfills are sited and approved, they be allowed to continue to serve the purpose that they were established for,” Bernson said in an interview. “Building homes close by merely ensures they are going to be targets for closure.”

Vote Unusual

The council vote, which was unanimous and without discussion, was unusual because city officials in the past have strenuously objected to state efforts to usurp local government’s authority over land use.

But the city of Los Angeles has no control over development near Elsmere and Towsley canyons, which are both outside the city limits. They are east of the Golden State Freeway just outside the city of Santa Clarita and are under the jurisdiction of the Los Angeles County Board of Supervisors. The county has not yet taken a position on the bill.

The measure, which comes up for its first hearing Tuesday before the Senate Housing and Urban Affairs Committee, has drawn the opposition of builders who say it would take away property rights for the sole benefit of dump operators, an aide to Robbins said.

Los Angeles has been running out of places to dump its trash because of strong neighborhood opposition to the opening of new landfills or expansion of existing ones. Lopez Canyon Landfill, the only remaining city-owned landfill, is due to close in 1992. It receives about 3,000 of the 18,000 tons of trash generated each day in Los Angeles, according to sanitation officials.