Fallbrook Developer Draws Fire With Pitch for Proposed Landfill Site

Efforts by Fallbrook developer David Lowry to add his 1,600-acre site to the three finalists under consideration by San Diego County as a North County landfill brought out a full house of protesters at Tuesday’s Board of Supervisors session.

Supervisors delayed a decision on Lowry’s proposal until July 5 to determine whether Lowry, a former chairman of the Fallbrook Planning Group, violated county policies by voting against another proposed Fallbrook-area dump site while having an interest in a competing site.

Lowry was quick to respond that he had begun his search for an alternative site after leaving the Fallbrook planners, announcing at the time he left that he would attempt to find an alternative to a proposed Rainbow-area site that Fallbrook residents opposed.

He said he would send documented proof to the county counsel’s office showing the time schedule of his land acquisitions after his resignation from the county-sponsored Fallbrook planners.

More Opposition from Fallbrook

However, Lowry’s proposed dump site four miles east of Interstate 15 and south of California 76 brought more opposition from Fallbrook than did the Rainbow site to the north.

Board Chairwoman Susan Golding was kept busy gaveling the unruly audience to silence as catcalls, cheers and applause followed each speaker who spoke for or against the proposal to place Lowry’s Couser Canyon site in contention with the three finalists.

Opponents criticized the site as too small, able to contain North County residents’ trash for only four or five years, and too environmentally risky because it is in the San Luis Rey River Valley, where contamination could pollute wells and water supplies downstream.

Many residents condemned the Lowry proposal as the first step in the destruction of the bucolic valley.

Fallbrook resident Davis Roach charged that Lowry’s proposal was “conceived in dishonesty and a betrayal of the public trust,” because Lowry, while chairman of the Fallbrook Planning Group, had lobbied against and voted against the Rainbow-area site while he was accumulating property for a competing landfill site in Couser Canyon.

‘Not Played Fair’

Lowry “has not played fair with either Fallbrook or the county,” Roach said.

Lowry said his property dealings were above board and conducted after his resignation from the Fallbrook group. He said he will present proof of that to the county counsel’s office, which was ordered by the board Tuesday to investigate the conflict of interest charges.

Lowry, speaking to reporters after the hearing, confirmed that he had taken options on most of the Couser Canyon land and had acquired some of the property outright. But, he stressed, he did not begin the acquisition while he was a member of the planning group.

He said he had obtained financing for the venture from Waste Management Inc., one of the world’s largest disposal firms, but that this did not guarantee that the county would hire the firm to manage the dump site if it is chosen.

Also protesting the inclusion of the Lowry site among the finalists were Valley Center planners and members of Indian bands in the area.

Pledged to Pay for Analysis

Lowry had asked that his site, which earlier had been rejected by the county as too small, be included among the sites to undergo intensive environmental review. He pledged to pay for the environmental analysis for his site if supervisors allow it to be included among the finalists.

Supervisor John MacDonald said he was “very disturbed” over the charges that Lowry had violated county conflict of interest regulations and made the motion to delay the decision on the site until the matter was investigated.

Supervisor Brian Bilbray also was accused of impropriety in the Lowry site issue by opponents who painted Bilbray as a close friend and political associate of Lowry. Bilbray denied any close relationship with Lowry.

Bilbray spoke in favor of including the Lowry site in the final selection process, pointing out that it was more accessible than others under consideration, “closer to the areas that generate the waste,” and therefore worthy of consideration despite its smaller size.

The three finalists in the North County landfill site selection process are Blue Canyon northwest of Warner Springs, Trujillo Canyon north of Pala and the Aspen Road (Rainbow) site between Fallbrook and Rainbow.