Firm Plans to Ask Voters to OK Landfill

Debate over the use of Weldon Canyon was rekindled Thursday as a San Diego-based company revealed plans for a November ballot initiative that would allow the public to determine if a landfill should be placed there, a county waste official said.

Servcom Inc. on Monday will file papers to create an initiative that would provide land-use and entitlement permits for Weldon Canyon to be used as a landfill, said Scott Montgomery, chairman of the Ventura County Waste Commission.

The rugged canyon, located at the mouth of the Ojai Valley, was the focus of a heated debate over the summer when Waste Management of North America attempted to get Ventura County approval to build a landfill there. The company withdrew its petition after it became clear that the proposal would be rejected by the County Board of Supervisors.

An agreement with Waste Management that would allow Servcom to control a landfill on the site “is either imminent to be consummated or has just been consummated,” said Montgomery, a Moorpark city councilman who is seeking the supervisor’s seat being vacated by Vicky Howard.

Officials at Servcom and Waste Management could not be reached for comment late Thursday.

“Going directly to the people is an interesting approach,” Simi Valley Mayor Greg Stratton said.

Montgomery said 18,000 signatures would be needed to get the issue on the ballot, and a majority of county voters would need to support the initiative in November for it to pass.

“They should be able to find enough signatures in one weekend to get this on the ballot,” Montgomery said. “People in the east county will be very supportive, and people in Ojai will probably be vocal opponents.”