Use of Dump Funds for Parade Irks Watchdogs

The 33rd annual Christmas parade here was a hit, an extravaganza of Mexican folk dancers and marching bands, vintage cars and charro riders on horseback, all brought to you by . . . the Lopez Canyon Landfill.

In a strange twist to the tale of the 400-acre landfill moldering under a blanket of dirt in Lake View Terrace, Councilman Alex Padilla helped pay for the holiday parade by dipping into a fund set aside almost a decade ago to ease the pain of neighbors living beside the now-closed dump.

The move has drawn criticism from some residents who question how the $5-million “community amenities” fund--the first of its kind in the county--has been spent over the years. Established by the city in 1991 when the landfill’s operating permit was extended another five years, it was meant for neighborhood projects such as recreational facilities, tree planting and recycling.

The fund has paid for an eclectic mishmash of programs and infrastructure upgrades, including a warehouse for a police anti-gang program, college scholarships, fireworks shows, a traffic signal and security lighting in a park. Although some spending was approved by a citizens group appointed by former Councilman Richard Alarcon, the panel was disbanded when Padilla took office last year.

“You’d have to be pushing it to use it for the Pacoima parade,” said Phyllis Hines, a member of the defunct advisory group and secretary of the Lake View Terrace Improvement Assn. “I’d like to see the fund closed out, because we have no control over it anymore.”

The saga of the Lopez Canyon fund--which still holds more than $1.3 million--offers a lesson for other communities that are awarded pots of cash in an attempt to compensate for unpopular land uses. In Granada Hills, for example, the operator of the Sunshine Canyon Landfill recently agreed to set aside $1.5 million for a similar community fund.

“It’s an extremely common practice,” said Megan Fowler, a spokeswoman for the Sierra Club. “Owners of industrial sites offer money either because of lawsuits or because they are trying to butter up the community.”

But the Lopez Canyon dollars fluttered into controversy almost immediately. A year after the goodwill fund was established, giving the 7th District councilman broad discretion over the money, then-Councilman Ernani Bernardi began feuding with constituents over how--and in which neighborhood--to spend it.

When he proposed using $700,000 for a Pacoima sports center to discourage young people from joining gangs, several community leaders in Kagel Canyon and Lake View Terrace objected that the money should be spent in their neighborhoods because they were more directly affected by the landfill. Bernardi countered that Pacoima endured garbage trucks rumbling through its streets en route to the dump.

Two homeowners groups actually sued the city and Bernardi during the dispute, but later withdrew their legal challenge after the councilman agreed to move the program closer to Lake View Terrace.

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Just before Bernardi retired in 1993, he clashed again with some residents when he set up a $1-million scholarship fund at Mission College in Sylmar. But when Alarcon took office, he promptly slashed the amount to $265,000 and made an effort to tie the program more directly to the landfill, requiring students seeking scholarships to write essays about solid-waste management and recycling.

“We tried to connect it to the environmental issues,” Alarcon said, noting that some of the money has been earmarked for an eco-friendly library and environmental center in Lake View Terrace.

Meanwhile, the fund has grown a bit fatter than originally intended. When the city approved a five-month extension for the dump in 1996, Alarcon secured almost $1 million more for the amenities fund as compensation.

But Alarcon’s use of the money occasionally sparked anger. In late 1998, just before he left City Hall to move to the state Senate, he pushed through about $1 million in projects.

The recipients included the Pacoima Boys and Girls Club, the Pacoima Senior Center, Valley Fair education programs and a Neighborhood Watch initiative for the area near the landfill. Some residents complained that many of the projects could have secured funding from other sources.

Padilla, a Pacoima native, defended his decision to spend $10,000 in landfill money for the Christmas parade, calling the Chamber of Commerce event a vital tradition that inspires pride.

“I think the spirit and intent of the fund was to help a community that had borne an undue burden,” said Padilla, who tooled down Van Nuys Boulevard in a convertible during the Dec. 9 parade, waving and handing out candy canes.

“Part of the image of the northeast Valley for people throughout the area is, ‘Why go there? There’s crime and poverty . . .’ We have the opportunity to re-instill the sense of pride in the community,” he said.

Cile Borman, who fought to get the landfill closed in 1996, said projects such as college scholarships and the parade, although worthwhile, should have waited for other funding. It also troubles her that Padilla did not set up an advisory group to give residents a voice in spending the cash.

“I would hate to see the funds that are left just slowly evaporate without the community having a say,” said Borman, who lives in Lake View Terrace. “There’s a lot of money there. We might say, ‘Let’s use it for something that’s of an environmental persuasion.’ But we don’t get that opportunity.”

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Padilla said he has no plans to appoint an advisory panel, adding that he has been selective in deciding how to spend the money. The only other project he approved was an $89,000 concrete landing pad for Fire Department helicopters, built at the top of the landfill.

State Sen. Alarcon, who once called the money “a buy-off of conscience,” agreed that boosting the spirit of a downtrodden community is an appropriate use for the amenities fund.

“My feeling is that Pacoima and Lake View Terrace simply have not received their fair share,” Alarcon said.

“And if the elected official is able to finagle a little bit, recognizing that they haven’t got their fair share and they’ve been dumped on all these years, I’m all for it.”