Green Gathering : Opponents Join Forces to Clean Up Trash From Big Tujunga Wash

From a distance, the Big Tujunga Wash looks like an untouched wildlife preserve set against the majestic San Gabriel Mountains.

But up close, the vast landscape is strewn with trash, tires, rusting appliances and twisted scrap metal.

For years, community groups, environmentalists, politicians and developers have debated initiatives to rid the area of refuse while protecting its natural beauty--the latest attempt being a controversial proposal to build a 352-acre golf course and equestrian center at the site.

On Saturday morning, supporters and opponents of that proposal were asked by Friends of the Los Angeles River, or FoLAR--an organization that seeks to restore the natural state of the Los Angeles River, a tributary of which runs through the site--to set aside their differences and mount a joint attack on the trash.

From 9 a.m. to noon, volunteers coordinated by FoLAR hauled mangled shopping carts, tattered mattresses and even a rusted refrigerator up from the floor of the wash and loaded them into waiting trucks.

People who supported both points of view on the development showed up for the event. But one group, the Sunland-Tujunga Chamber of Commerce, wasn’t quite ready to pick up a rake in the name of solidarity.

Chamber members disagreed with FoLAR’s decision to limit their efforts to a privately owned portion of the land where Foothill Golf Development Group wants to build its course.

“If we had a golf course, the golf course people would clean their own property,” said Kathy Anthony, president of the chamber, which supports the golf course proposal.

A FoLAR board member said the organization was made aware of the site’s condition because of the attention focused on it by the proposal. “We repeatedly heard that people were concerned that the area was so dirty,” said board member Katie Klapper.

Anthony said she has fought for 20 years to rid the wash of trash, transients, drug dealers, gangbangers, taggers and pets who have been abandoned there.

In 1988, Anthony said, it took a cadre of city workers more than a week to clear debris from a city-owned section of the wash, only to see it covered by another wave of refuse. Although she said FoLAR’s aims were “laudable,” she maintained that the best way to keep the area clean was by turning it into a commercial golf course.

“This is only a Band-Aid,” Anthony said. “We need long-term cleaning. Where are they going to be later today, next week or next month?”

FoLAR’s managing director, Melanie Winter, didn’t seem bothered by the chamber’s protest. “I’m doing this for the community, not for the developer or for any political reason. I just want it clean,” Winter said.

“Hopefully, by coming together today we can establish a rapport, so that we can work together in the future.”

The future of the golf course remains unresolved. In July, the Los Angeles City Council rejected Foothill Golf Development Group’s bid to build the course. In response, the developer has filed a $215-million claim against the city that is currently being reviewed by the city attorney’s office.