COMMENTARY : A Civics Lesson: Trust Comes First : City dump: Will the council break its word and extend the life of the troublesome Lopez Canyon Landfill?

As I was thinking about the Lopez Canyon Landfill issue, it occurred to me that my daughter, a student at the law and government school at James Monroe High School in North Hills, is learning a fundamental rule of good government that escapes some of my colleagues on the Los Angeles City Council: Elected and appointed government officials must keep their word.

Abraham Lincoln said, “I am nothing, but truth is everything.” The integrity of our democratic process is based on a sacred trust that the people have placed on those they elect to represent them.

In September, the city Planning Commission voted to grant a new conditional use permit to operate the Lopez landfill for one additional year, despite a 1991 permit granted with the stipulation that “no further authorizations or extensions” be granted beyond February 1996.

Last month, the waste management committee chaired by Councilman Marvin Braude recommended that the city break that promise and keep Lopez open until the year 2001. This action is perplexing, especially coming from Braude, who fought hard to have the Mission Canyon Landfill closed in the early 1980s with about 80% of its trash capacity still unused. The concerns raised by the Mission Canyon community--environmental degradation, public health threat and nuisance--were identical to the ones being raised by the communities surrounding Lopez Canyon.

The city attorney offered an opinion that should trouble all of us: Conditions in conditional use permits may be disregarded if the makeup of the decision making body has changed. This is an ominous statement, and if true, it renders the entire permitting process meaningless. According to the city attorney, a permit holder with a list of conditions placed on his permit can just wait it out until the next election or appointment.

Today, the City Council will make its final decision on Lopez landfill. The Bureau of Sanitation claims that it will cost the city $39 million to close Lopez. Maybe it will, but sometimes it costs money to do the right thing. In any case, it will not cost the city as much as the bureau has claimed. In 1990, the bureau said it would cost the city about $11 per ton to dump in Lopez from 1991 to 1995; that estimate was one of the reasons Lopez was kept open. However, an April 1995 audit of those years says the actual cost was $27.15 per ton.

Now the bureau says if Lopez is kept open beyond 1996, dumping will cost only $14.62 per ton. Will we be duped again?

Ultimately the council and the mayor will realize that the true cost of Lopez Canyon Landfill will never show up on a spreadsheet. It really comes down to what kind of government we want to have. Will it be the kind we teach our children about in school, the one that is based on integrity and trust, or will it be a government that slowly but surely erodes the public’s faith by making promises only to break them?