Residents With Extra Trash Face Added Load of a $5 Fee

Setting the stage for a potential clash with Los Angeles Mayor Richard Riordan, the City Council voted Wednesday to impose a new $5 monthly fee for residents who request larger trash containers to dump their weekly refuse.

The fee, which officials hope will generate $8 million annually, is intended to help recoup the extra cost of hauling the city’s trash to private dumps after the Lopez Canyon Landfill in Lake View Terrace is closed July 1.

Although the extra levy is technically a fee and not a tax, Riordan’s aides said the mayor may consider vetoing the new charge because he pledged in his election campaign never to raise taxes.

Riordan’s spokeswoman, Noelia Rodriguez, said the mayor was out of town Wednesday but has 10 days to veto the action.

“Any time you are asking people to pay more for services, it warrants an extra look,” she said.

The council voted 8 to 3 for the fee, with council members Rita Walters, Rudy Svorinich Jr. and Joel Wachs voting against it. The council would need 10 votes to override a mayoral veto.

The city currently provides residents with one 60-gallon container but picks up any extra trash at no cost. The fee is expected to take effect July 1 and applies to residents who request up to 30 gallons of extra trash capacity.

But the new fee was opposed by lawmakers representing South-Central Los Angeles, who said some large, low-income families who can’t afford the extra fee are likely to dump trash in alleys and empty lots rather than pay it.

“My concern is that some people would dump the trash rather than pay the extra fee,” said Walters, who represents parts of South-Central. “My district already has a big dumping problem.”

Although the fee includes a provision to waive the cost for large and low-income families, Walters said she fears that the word may not get out to all the residents about the fee waiver and ultimately few will take advantage of it.

Svorinich, who represents Watts and the Harbor area, echoed those concerns, saying the fee may “exacerbate the illegal dumping problem in my community.”

Wachs, who represents parts of the east San Fernando Valley, said he voted against the fee, in part, because it was unfair to horse owners who have to pay the extra $5 to dump their manure even though it can be recycled as fertilizer. He suggested a lower fee for manure.

But Councilman Richard Alarcon, whose northeast Valley district includes the Lopez Canyon Landfill and has been the most vocal advocate for closing it, said he shares the concerns about dumping problems but believes the fee will encourage residents to recycle more and throw away less trash.

In addition, he said some of the revenue from the fee can be used to promote recycling programs.

Last month, the council ended years of debate over the fate of Lopez Canyon--the last city-run dump--when it voted to close it July 1, despite a study that showed the dump can accept trash for another five years for about $8 million a year less than it costs to haul city trash to private dumps.

The extra fee was proposed as a way to appease several council members who supported closure of the dump but worried about how the city can pay for the extra cost of using private dumps.

The landfill, a 400-acre facility, accepts about 80%--or 3,500 tons--of the city’s trash.

But noise, odors, dust, truck traffic and methane gas emissions from the dump have for years generated protests from neighbors and their elected representatives, including Assemblyman Richard Katz (D-Sylmar) and Alarcon.

Landfill opponents have repeatedly noted that when the city adopted the last extension of the dump in 1991, it approved a provision that prohibits any further extensions beyond Feb. 6.

As a compromise, the City Council voted to close the dump July 1 and impose the extra fee to make up for the extra cost of hauling trash to private landfills.

Residents who need extra capacity can pay $5 a month and trade in their 60-gallon container for a 90-gallon can that will be picked up at the curb by city trash trucks. Those who already have extra containers can return them to the city if they don’t want to pay the extra fee.

For residents who need extra trash capacity on an occasional basis, the city will sell orange tags for $1 each that can be put on a trash bag or other container that is left on the street curb.

Residents can pay a $2.50 fee for extra containers to dispose of yard trimmings, which the city uses to make compost.