GRANADA HILLS : County Could Take Title to Landfill Road

The Los Angeles County counsel has told the Board of Supervisors that the county can legally take title to the only access road leading to Sunshine Canyon Landfill, perhaps clearing the way for the now-closed dump to reopen.

The road runs through property owned by the landfill operator, Browning-Ferris Industries, on land located within the city of Los Angeles. The city earlier had blocked the road’s use, refusing to issue Browning-Ferris the necessary zoning permits. City officials maintained that the road would be used for manufacturing purposes in an area zoned for agricultural use.

Browning-Ferris then filed a claim against the city seeking up to $1.5 billion in damages from lost revenues caused by the city’s action. Shortly after, Browning-Ferris asked the county to consider taking title to the road, because in most cases counties are not subject to the zoning rules of cities.

The landfill straddles the line that divides the city from the county, north of Granada Hills.

Browning-Ferris expanded and has sought to reopen the part of the landfill located in the county. But the only access to that area is from a road that cuts through city territory.

In its legal opinion, the County Counsel wrote: “We conclude that because of the legal doctrine of intergovernmental immunity, the county would not be subject to the city’s zoning regulations concerning this access road, if dedication of the access road were effectuated for a public purpose, such as the provision of solid waste facilities.”

County officials said supervisors will not make a decision on taking title to the access road until Sept. 14 at the earliest.

An attorney for the North Valley Coalition, a group that opposes the landfill, has argued that the county would be placing itself at risk by taking title to the road.

“If BFI runs the new part of the landfill the way they ran the old one, then the county will be liable,” said attorney Rosemary Woodlock, who represents the coalition.

Woodlock added that the landfill may be seismically unstable, creating a potential hazard and raising another liability question.

The coalition has battled Browning-Ferris for the past four years, challenging nearly every move the landfill owners have made in court and through appeals to city and county planning and zoning agencies.