SYLMAR : County Asked to Claim Road to Dump

The owners of Sunshine Canyon Landfill between Sylmar and Granada Hills have asked Los Angeles County officials to consider taking title to the only access road leading to the now idle dump.

The request from Browning-Ferris Industries came a week after the company filed a claim seeking financial damages from the city of Los Angeles after city officials refused to let trash trucks use the road, which runs through land owned by BFI, but within city limits.

BFI has “suggested they might dedicate that road to the county,” said Chief Assistant County Counsel Gerald Crump. “For that to happen, they would have to offer dedication and the county would have to accept. But there are all kinds of legal ramifications, and that’s what we’re looking at.”

Crump said a decision on the road is expected in about two weeks. If the county takes title to the road, city zoning rules could become void, officials said.

Browning-Ferris, which obtained permission from the county to reopen and expand part of the now-closed landfill, has fought a four-year legal battle against the city, nearby residents, environmentalists and representatives of a rival waste management company, all of whom challenged the expansion.

Browning-Ferris also has wrangled with the city over obtaining zoning permits that would allow trash trucks to use the lone road leading to the expanded part of the facility. Although a city zoning administrator previously approved landfill use of the road, an appeals board later overturned the decision and denied access.

Browning-Ferris appealed the decision to the City Council, but could not muster enough votes to overturn it.

After the council rejected the appeal, Browning-Ferris filed a claim against the city seeking more than $1.5 billion in damages for lost revenue. Officials with the waste management company maintain the street is the only way trash trucks can reach the landfill. Building another road to the landfill through the hilly, forested area would result in significant environmental impact and entail further regulatory reviews, said a spokesman for the company.

An attorney for the North Valley Coalition, a group opposed to the landfill expansion, did not return a phone call seeking comment on the road dedication.