Critics Want Landfill Action Off the Ballot

In their latest plea to the court, Weldon Canyon landfill opponents Friday urged a judge to remove a landfill initiative from the November ballot because it grants one company a “monopoly” at the dump site between Ventura and Ojai.

“This case is not about the need for another landfill in Ventura County,” wrote Katherine Stone, an attorney for the city of Ojai. Rather, she argued, it’s a question of adhering to state laws that limit what can be done in a ballot initiative.

The Weldon Canyon landfill initiative lacks the proper wording and provisions to allow voters a clear view of what they’re supporting, she wrote: “If the measure were placed on the ballot, it would mislead the voters because the full impact of the measure is not disclosed.”

Landfill supporters argue that Ventura County voters should have their say over the controversial Weldon Canyon project.

A retired appeals court judge will hear final arguments Monday before deciding whether the matter should remain on November’s ballot.

But foes in Ojai and Ventura filed suit, contending that the measure had so many legal problems that it should be declared invalid before the election.

*

A key flaw, Stone argued in the 15-page court filing, is that the ballot initiative benefits only one private interest: Taconic Resources, the San Diego County partnership that wants to open the landfill.

That, she argued, violates state laws against giving preferential treatment to any company and, in essence, is “legislating Taconic into a monopoly position.”

In court papers, Stone argued that Taconic “has no demonstrable qualifications to run a major landfill operation” and would be the only company to benefit from the ballot initiative, as it is written.

But attorneys for landfill supporters argue that the public good will come when the site opens and the western half of the county can dispose of its trash conveniently.

“If the voters are deprived of their right to vote in the November, 1994, election, they cannot vote again until March, 1996,” wrote Wes Peltzer, the San Diego County attorney representing supporters. “In the interim, the need for a new landfill to dispose of 300,000 tons of waste generated in western Ventura County each year remains unfulfilled.”

*

Peltzer could not be reached for comment Friday. But in court papers he also argued that the ban on referring to specific companies applies only to statewide measures, not to local initiatives.

A Moorpark activist, Ellen Brown, began the petition drive for the Weldon Canyon measure this spring. With the help of paid signature gatherers, the drive collected more than 32,000 signatures.

Those voters, Peltzer argued, should have their say.

The lawyers will face off Monday before retired Appeals Judge Richard Abbe, a Santa Barbara judge brought in to hear the case. Both sides have promised to appeal if the suit is not revolved in their favor.