Request on Landfill Rejected by Council
Los Angeles City Council members stood firm Wednesday in their fight to keep the city’s Lopez Canyon Landfill open, refusing a request by two council members who want the city to obey state orders that would shut the landfill down within days.
It was the second time in three weeks that the council has scuttled requests by Councilmen Joel Wachs and Ernani Bernardi to voluntarily comply with tough state restrictions to reduce the amount of garbage trucked to the Lake View Terrace landfill and severely limit the area where trash can be dumped.
The council instead voted 12 to 3 to send the issue to the council’s new Environmental Quality and Waste Management Committee, headed by Councilman Marvin Braude, who promised to return in 60 days with a status report on how the city should be solving its escalating trash crisis.
Neither Bernardi nor Wachs said they expected the council to approve their request.
“But someone has got to be there pushing the question because you need it to get to a compromise in the end,” Wachs said afterward.
Start your day right
Sign up for Essential California for news, features and recommendations from the L.A. Times and beyond in your inbox six days a week.
You may occasionally receive promotional content from the Los Angeles Times.
