SUNSHINE CANYON DUMP : Expansion OK Urged, but With a Catch : Waste: A county planner would bar Los Angeles from using the landfill unless it also allows use of city land.

Los Angeles County’s chief planner has recommended that an expansion of the Sunshine Canyon Landfill on county land be approved but that the city of Los Angeles be barred from sending trash there unless it also grants permission for dumping on its side of the city-county line.

The recommendations by Planning Director James E. Hartl were made public Wednesday, on the eve of a key hearing by the county Regional Planning Commission. At today’s hearing, the commission may make its decision on the county portion of the expansion.

Browning-Ferris Industries operates the 230-acre dump north of Granada Hills.

The company wants to expand the landfill by 706 acres, 542 of them in unincorporated county territory.

Homeowners and environmentalists have opposed the expansion, saying it would destroy an oak forest.

The area where Browning-Ferris wishes to expand straddles the city-county line, and the firm has yet to apply for a permit to dump on the city side.

Hartl recommended approval of Browning-Ferris’ request for a landfill on the county side that would hold 70 million tons of trash.

He suggested a dumping rate of 8,000 tons a day; such a landfill would have a life of 28 years, he estimated.

If expansions on both city and county territory were granted, county officials estimated, the dump could hold 215 million tons of garbage and could operate for at least 50 years.

Regarding the city portion of Browning-Ferris’ expansion plans, Hartl suggested that the city be barred from sending its trash to the county landfill in Sunshine Canyon if the city does not approve an expansion on its own side.

As early as last November, county officials were considering including such a restriction during negotiations between the two governments over another proposed landfill, in Elsmere Canyon.

Los Angeles City Councilman Hal Bernson, who represents the adjacent city area, has opposed any expansion of Sunshine Canyon.

Bernson said Hartl’s suggested ban on city dumping in county territory would lead to a lawsuit if it is implemented by the county Board of Supervisors.

“There’s a real question about whether they have a right to prohibit us from using it,” Bernson said. “If they do extend it and they say the city of Los Angeles can’t use it, I think that’s discriminatory.”

In addition, Hartl suggested that the commission retain the authority to review the landfill expansion when the total amount of trash dumped in it reaches 13 million tons and again at 45 million tons.

The two reviews would allow the commission to monitor how Browning-Ferris meets many of the other suggested environmental conditions, on issues such as replacement of oak trees and control of blowing dust and trash, Hartl said.

BACKGROUND The proposal: Now operating on 230 acres within the city of Los Angeles, Browning-Ferris Industries proposes to expand the dump by another 164 acres in the city and 542 acres in unincorporated Los Angeles County. Dumping capacity: The existing landfill is expected to be filled by September, 1991. If BFI is granted expansions into the city and county, the dump could accommodate 215 million tons of garbage, giving it a life of at least 50 years. Key environmental issue: BFI would remove more than 7,000 existing oaks at the landfill site, but would plant 17,000 new trees elsewhere in the county. Opponents charge the new trees--seedlings, in scattered locations--would not replace the mature oak forest.The pressure: According to the county Department of Public Works, county landfills will be over capacity by 6,400 tons per day by 1991 if no new recycling programs are added, no existing dumps are expanded and no new landfills created. Sunshine Canyon currently receives nearly one-seventh of Los Angeles County’s solid waste.