Ojai May Challenge Landfill Ballot Issue : Government: City Council plans to study legality of developer’s proposal on Weldon Canyon project. The firm wants to bypass supervisors and go directly to voters.

Hoping to stop development of a landfill at Weldon Canyon, the Ojai City Council is exploring legal challenges to a countywide ballot initiative that would allow the dump to be built without the approval of county supervisors.

At its Tuesday night meeting, the council intends to authorize its legal counsel to determine whether the initiative process can be used to approve a land-use issue, Councilwoman Nina Shelley said.

Last week, Taconic Resources of San Diego County filed a request for an initiative that would bypass county authorities and let voters decide the issue in November, elections officials said. Voters would be asked to amend the county’s General Plan and change certain zoning ordinances to allow construction of the landfill.

The company needs to gather more than 18,000 signatures by June 6 to put the measure on the November ballot. If that campaign succeeds and voters approve the measure, Taconic would still need state, regional and some local approvals to develop the dump.

“What we’re looking into is the right of a ballot measure to determine a land-use issue,” Shelley said, explaining that land decisions are typically determined by local jurisdictions. “Is it proper for the people to determine by ballot the use of land in a given area?”

City Atty. Monte Widders said he was uncertain and intends to give the council a full report on April 26.

Supervisor Maggie Kildee said county attorneys also will probably look at the legal aspects of the measure.

“I think the legality of it is an issue,” she said. “But my biggest issue is if we put another dump in, it’s going to be a white elephant. I don’t think we need it.”

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Scott Montgomery, a Moorpark councilman who is chairman of the Ventura County Waste Commission, supports the project and said he has no doubt that an initiative would be legal.

“I don’t question the legality of the initiative process in this instance,” he said.

As for Ojai’s concerns, he said: “I’m well aware that they will oppose this. I respect their opinions. I just disagree.”

Taconic, which specializes in solid- and liquid-waste projects, is negotiating to take over Waste Management Inc.’s lease at Weldon Canyon, which lies at the mouth of the Ojai Valley.

Waste Management spent eight years and $13 million trying to construct a landfill there but withdrew its proposal last summer after it became clear that county supervisors would defeat it.

Taconic hopes to bypass the supervisors and go directly to the voters.

“It appears that east county cities could, if they could collect sufficient signatures, determine land-use issues in our part of the county,” Shelley said.

Ojai, which has the county’s smallest percentage of voters, intends to fight the landfill proposal with as much tenacity as the city showed during its previous battle to stop Waste Management, she said.

“We do not have the power other communities have in numbers and income,” Shelley said. “But not for one moment should anyone misunderstand the people of the Ojai Valley.”

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For starters, the City Council intends to write to the County Waste Commission expressing its concern over Taconic’s plan to develop a waste facility but not operate it.

Taconic officials have said that construction and operation of the dump would be handled by a third party.

“The Waste Commission has, in the past, determined that waste facilities in Ventura County should be managed as a public utility,” Shelley said.

Shelley said her greatest concern is that Taconic could import waste from outside the county to the landfill, which would have traffic and air-quality effects on the entire county--not just Ojai.

“I see no reason to go into that kind of investment unless the intent is to import waste from another county,” Shelley said. “We are not in this county interested in building an economy on the importation of waste.”

Montgomery, who is seeking the supervisor’s seat being vacated by Vicky Howard, said he sees no problem with importing trash but the immediate issue is whether to build the dump. “It’s far too early to tell whether importation would be allowed,” Montgomery said. “I would be supportive of taking a look at that issue at the proper time.”

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Hauling waste into Ventura County raises a new spectrum of environmental concerns, Shelley said, that would affect all county residents.

“We hope that we can convince other cities . . . this is no longer an Ojai Valley issue, this is a Ventura County issue,” she said.

Ojai Councilman James Loebl agreed.

“If the thing qualifies for the ballot and it is legal--and I’m not saying that it will or that it isn’t--then we need help throughout the county, and there is no time like the present,” he said. “We have some work to do, there’s no question about it.”