Santa Clarita / Antelope Valley : Santa Clarita Official Named to Fight Landfill

To head up its continuing battle against the proposed Elsmere Canyon Landfill project, the city of Santa Clarita has reassigned its public works director to the new post of deputy city manager in charge of special projects.

His only project for the time being, city officials said, will be the fight against BKK Corp.’s controversial plans to build a 190-million-ton landfill just outside city limits.

Jeff Kolin, who will retain his $97,000 city salary, will officially assume the new title July 1, the beginning of the fiscal year.

As public works director, Kolin said he already spends at least half his time on the city’s efforts to stop the landfill. His other public works duties, city officials said, will be assumed by a current staff member to be named later. No new hires will be made, they said.

“The change will allow me to spend much more time on the Elsmere project and give it much greater emphasis,” Kolin said in a phone interview Wednesday.

“Right now, the critical things coming up are the Regional Planning Commission hearings,” he said. “That will be the immediate focus, preparing to testify at those hearings and working with the city’s consultants and community groups.”

Two public hearings have been scheduled on the subject. The first will be Downtown on Wednesday, the other will be May 31 in Santa Clarita.

BKK officials said the creation of the new post will not alter their plans.

“The city has spent numerous staff resources on this project,” said Ron Gastelum, the chief administrative officer for BKK Corp. “I suspect this really isn’t much different from what they have done in the past.”

Richard Frazier, a regional planner with Los Angeles County, said that he has “no idea” what kind of effect Kolin’s new position will have on the Elsmere Canyon landfill issue.

“Every landfill in the last 10 years has basically faced this,” Frazier said. “And none have been denied.”

Frazier added that the original landfill proposals were, however, all “substantially limited.”