WELDON CANYON : Petition Seeks to Put Landfill on Ballot

Representatives for a San Diego County firm seeking voter approval for a dump at Weldon Canyon have begun circulating a petition aimed at placing the landfill measure on the November ballot.

Taconic Resources wants to build a dump and recycling center on 551 acres in Weldon Canyon, 2 1/2 miles north of Ventura and five miles south of Ojai, and is asking voters to amend the county’s General Plan and certain zoning ordinances.

To get the measure on the ballot, Taconic must obtain 18,753 valid signatures by June 6, said Bruce Bradley, assistant registrar of voters for the county.

“For a countywide (initiative), this is pretty close,” Bradley said.

Taconic, which began collecting signatures on Tuesday, would have to collect about 938 valid signatures a day to make the June deadline.

That deadline was set to allow the registrar time to count and verify the signatures.

Taconic could elect to wait to place the measure on the June, 1996, ballot or try for a special election sometime in between.

About 30 public officials, local businessmen and residents attended a news conference Tuesday morning at the Simi Valley Courthouse to begin the drive.

Eloise Brown, a former Moorpark city councilwoman and proponent of the landfill measure, was the first person to sign the petition Tuesday.

“We just feel it’s time (there was) some serious consideration of the landfill site in the west county,” Brown said.