Land-Use Hearings

On Oct. 29 a city of Los Angeles planning hearing was held in Kennedy High School Auditorium on a proposal by Browning-Ferris Industries to change the current zoning of a 494-acre parcel from open space to heavy industrial. This would allow the expansion of Sunshine Canyon Landfill to hold another 55 million tons of trash.

Browning-Ferris Industries was allowed at least an hour to make its presentation for the expansion. Politicians came next, with unlimited time to speak. Then came the organized opposition, the North Valley Coalition, who were limited to 20 minutes. By now three hours or less were left for all the other concerned citizens. The planner limited them to the usual three minutes per speaker.

Twenty people per hour would have allowed no more than 60 people to come to the podium and voice their facts, feelings and opinions. The planner reduced the time to two minutes per speaker, emphasizing that they had to be out of the high school auditorium by 9 p.m.

The city Planning Department should allow citizens to speak with dignity at planning hearings and in the case of complex planning issues should schedule several hearings so that all who wish to speak may do so. If the city wants citizen support of many of its projects, it should review the way land-use hearings are scheduled and held.

More than elections, land-use hearings--which occur every week, all year--tell the citizens whether the city bureaucrats and politicians are listening to their legitimate concerns. The utter callousness in the handling of the Kennedy High School hearing underscores the demand for neighborhood power in land-use matters and the desire of many areas to become independent of big-city management. A city has no future if its citizens have no voices and if city government has no ears.

BETSEY LANDIS

Los Angeles