Council Studies Zoning as Way to Block Sunshine Landfill Expansion

Los Angeles City Council members asked for legal advice Wednesday to determine whether they can use zoning powers to pressure Sunshine Canyon Landfill to drop plans to expand into county territory.

City attorneys were asked if the city can grant a zoning permit for changes at the landfill under a condition that the operator, Browning-Ferris Industries, withdraw its application for expansion beyond city boundaries.

The request was made by members of the city Board of Referred Powers, which is headed by Councilman Hal Bernson, an opponent of the proposed expansion. Bernson’s district includes the Granada Hills landfill.

Representatives of Granada Hills homeowners groups said Wednesday they believe the real purpose of the zoning permit sought by Browning-Ferris is to prepare for expansion onto 542 acres of adjacent land in Los Angeles County and are not needed to continue operations on the city side of the dump.

Bernson sided with homeowners and said he believes that the improvements “will in fact be beneficial to the potential expansion into the county.”

BFI has asked for a city zoning permit to relocate a haul road and the dump entrance, construct a large sediment catch basin and install a new leachate system.

Browning-Ferris attorneys said the construction is necessary for the company to comply with City Council orders to stop dumping near homes in the southern portion of the landfill and move operations to a smaller northern sector of the landfill, where they are permitted to operate until 1991.

BFI property straddles the Los Angeles city-county border. A city zoning administrator approved the BFI improvements last year, but homeowners asked the city Zoning Board of Appeals to review the decision. The case went to the Board of Referred Powers, however, because Joseph D. Mandel, a commissioner on the zoning appeals board, had a conflict of interest. He is an attorney with a law firm that also represents BFI.

Expansion of the dump, which would more than double daily garbage intake to between 12,000 and 14,000 tons daily and extend operations well into the 21st Century, is under environmental review by the county and is the source of intense community and political debate.

BFI attorney Christopher Funk said “there are some real misconceptions” about the construction plans and insisted that they are “not part of any plan to facilitate or further the county case.”

Bernson countered by proposing a measure supported by homeowners that would allow for the improvements on the condition that BFI drop plans for expansion onto county land.

Three other board members, however, were reluctant to vote on the issue until the city attorney ruled whether it is lawful for the city to place conditions on development issues outside city borders. The matter is scheduled for consideration Jan. 12.

Browning-Ferris attorney Linda J. Bozung said it is “probably not likely” that landfill operators would drop their application to expand the dump in order to pursue the improvements on land within the city. She declined to speculate how landfill operations would be affected if those improvements are not made.