Lopez Dump Override Appears Short of Votes : Waste: Councilman vows to use an alternative plan to force closure of the controversial landfill.

Opponents of the Lopez Canyon Landfill do not appear to have enough votes on the Los Angeles City Council to defeat a proposal that would extend the life of the controversial dump, according to interviews Tuesday with council members.

At least 10 votes are needed for the City Council to overturn a Sept. 14 decision by the Planning Commission to issue a one-year extension on the landfill’s current operating permit, which expires in February.

According to interviews with the 13 council members who plan to attend today’s meeting, six oppose the extension, four support it and the remaining three members say they are still undecided.

Nonetheless, Councilman Richard Alarcon, a longtime opponent of the dump whose district includes the landfill’s neighbors in Lake View Terrace, said he has an alternative plan to close the dump that will require only eight votes.

If he does not get the 10 votes today, Alarcon said he will introduce a new motion at a later date to close the dump. Unlike a vote to overturn a Planning Commission decision, such a motion would require the support of only an eight-vote majority.

Chief Legislative Analyst Ronald Deaton said such a move is legal and would force closure of the dump. “You can close a library with eight votes,” he said. “You can close Griffith Park with eight votes.”

Alarcon’s colleagues said they don’t fault him for trying every tactic he can think of to close the dump.

“For anyone who feels strongly about this, it’s an acceptable way to deal with it,” said Councilwoman Laura Chick, who said she plans to vote for the extension.

In the meantime, Alarcon said he and his staff are lobbying his council colleagues to oppose the extension. The dump, he says, has for years created noise, odors and traffic for its neighbors.

“We’ve been working real hard to explain to my colleagues the benefits of closing the landfill,” he said.

Those in support of the extension are council members Chick, Marvin Braude, Mike Feuer and Rita Walters. Those opposed are Alarcon, Joel Wachs, Mike Hernandez, Nate Holden, Hal Bernson and Richard Alatorre. The rest are undecided.

Council President John Ferraro and Councilwoman Ruth Galanter are expected to be absent.

In lobbying his colleagues, Alarcon said he will note that when the council adopted a previous extension of the dump in 1991, it approved a provision that promised not to extend the dump beyond 1996.

“It’s going to be hard for council members to vote to break a promise,” Alarcon said.

Several council members said they have struggled for months with the decision because they worry about the financial cost of closing the dump.

Although the permit for the 400-acre landfill expires in February, it still has the capacity to accept trash until 2001. A city report released last week said the city could save $39 million by operating the dump for another five years instead of hauling trash to expensive private dumps.

Council members say the debate will also focus on whether burying nearly 4,000 tons of trash each day in Lopez Canyon is an environmentally sound policy.

“The specific issues are what is our financial responsibility and what is our environmental responsibility,” said Mark Ridley-Thomas, who remains undecided. “The overriding issue, however, is how to keep the public trust.”

Jackie Goldberg, who also is undecided, agreed. “It’s a tough one for me,” she said.

Walters, for example, said she is sympathetic to the promise made to Lake View Terrace residents. But she said she is voting for the extension because she is worried about “being held hostage to the private sector.”

Walters, like others who plan to vote for the extension, said she hopes the one-year period will give the city time to find cheap alternatives to hauling trash to private firms.

But Alarcon said he will argue that the city already has several alternatives. Among them is possible use of the Sunshine Canyon Landfill near Granada Hills. Last week, the city and owners of the Sunshine Canyon Landfill settled a legal dispute that could allow that dump to reopen within six months.

Under that settlement, the owners of Sunshine Canyon guaranteed the city a trash disposal fee of about $18 per ton. Alarcon said that agreement could be used as leverage to get low rates from other private firms.