North Valley Coalition

Sunshine Canyon Dump History 1950 - 1999

v The dump began as an illegal operation in the mid 1950’s. The objection of neighbors forced the owners to legalize their facility. According to John O'Melveny, ranch owner of 19 years, a Mr. Visco, who operated under the name of Bentz Disposal made an application for a zone change and CUP under the name of North Valley Land Development Corporation to legalize the dump without notifying the adjacent landowners. These proceedings began May of 1957. The zone request was for an M3 from an A-I. The City Planning Commission on June 5, 1957 denied the CUP and Zone change in part, because "The proposed M3 zone would actually constitute a license to utilize the property for numerous obnoxious uses because of the unrestricted nature of the zone classification." In the Commission report, the Air Pollution Control District stated: "We believe that the location of an area of M3 zoning in this vicinity would have highly adverse effects upon large portions of the San Fernando Valley from the standpoint of air pollution, and hence, is not desirable."

v The matter was appealed to Council and the report of the Planning Commission upheld. The corporation then sought a zone variance in 1958 under ZA Case No. 14544.

v According to an agreement reached between John O'Melveny and the owners who are listed as Sunshine Canyon Inc., there were boundaries and conditions set to the operation of the dump on February 17, 1958.

v On March 31, 1958 the Zoning Administrator amended the request and conditionally granted the variance on a temporary basis for a period of ten years.

v In 1961, the owners returned to request a modification of the zone variance. The applicant found it a hardship to comply with three of the conditions. One of which was the restriction of certain types of rubbish. They could only accept rubbish from licensed haulers (mostly solid materials). The amended request was for wrapped garbage from the City and the general public. This garbage would now include what we know to be harmful on its own or when it is mixed with other garbage. This request was granted.

v In September 1966, the operator applied for and was granted another variance. The testimony of the Zoning Administrator on May 17, 1966 at the appeals hearing (page 32 BZA Case No. 1672) reveals that the early application for an expanded site was due to the fact that the operators had exceeded their permitted elevations. The operators were issued a 25-year variance. The residential community across the street from the site vigorously protested to no avail. The community was gradually replaced by mixed industry and salvage operations.

v In 1978 the City of Los Angeles prepared an environmental document with the intention of buying and expanding the dump. Community protest caused the City to abandon plans.

v In 1978 BFI bought out the dump. Their property straddles the City/County line. They began taking far more trash than the amount indicated in the operating permit (3000 tons per day) and violated the operating hours set forth in the permit. BFI exceeded their elevations and went beyond their permitted boundaries into Significant Ecological Area #20. In so doing, they removed an oak woodlands without a permit. BFI encroached into the primary watercourse with trash and destroyed federally protected wetlands.

v In 1988 due to increasing violations of the permit and conditions, and due to complaints from the residents living near the dump, Councilman Hal Bernson filed a revocation action. On September 1, 1988 the Zoning Administrator ruled in a decision that the operators had violated their permit by causing conditions that were materially detrimental to the surrounding community, by exceeding their prescribed elevations and their variance line, had come too close to the water course and Bradley Avenue, and operating too close to the ridgeline.

v Through the ZA's ruling and in the appeal process, new conditions were added to the permit. In an attempt to cure the violations BFI was ordered to request a Curative Variance (the only one ever granted by the City) to encompass the land they had illegally used. In addition, BFI was ordered to move operations to a northern canyon further from the residential area and nearer the I-5 Freeway. The violations were upheld through appeals to the City Council, and BFI significantly reduced the amount of trash taken in the final two years of the dump's operation. The variance expired in September 1991.

v Many of the conditions ordered by the Zoning Administrator were not complied with so that when the variance expired, BFI walked away from them telling the City that they had no power to enforce them.

Examples of the conditions ignored: A health study, ordered by John Parker in the Revocation Findings, Sept. 1, 1988.

Restoration of the water course, ordered under ZA case 17804 (PAD). Nov. 2, 1988, Condition #2C.

Replacing oaks in the north canyon, ordered under BZA Case No. 4336 and 4337.

Hiring an inspector to oversee closure, BZA Case No. 4484, Dec. 19, 1991, Condition #2.

Providing an accurate survey, ZA89-1129.

v At the last hearing before the BZA, after the dump had closed, BFI's attorney testified: “When the variances expired, the Conditions expired." The Board reached the conclusion that Condition #2 BZA Case No. 4484"... the conditions which apply to the landfill as a whole will continue to apply even though the variances which allowed the filling to take place have expired." Condition #6 of that ruling states: "The requirement that the applicant pay the cost of having a city inspector monitor compliance with the variance conditions is necessary because the applicant at the board hearing stated an unwillingness to comply with several of the conditions." Continuing: "The cost burden for such proposed willful noncompliance should be borne by the applicant not the public." The inspector was never hired.

v Closure plans were submitted for the City dump, but as of 2003 (12 years later) there is no closure.

v By 1989, BFI produced for the County a Draft EIR for a 215 million ton landfill that would include that City and County.

v The "initial phase" of the landfill was approved in 1991 with overriding considerations based on a trash crisis. This resulted in the destruction of a hardwood forest containing thousands of oaks. The North Valley Coalition filed suit and the EIR was vacated. The deficient parts of the EIR were recirculated and reapproved in 1993. The Coalition's appeals were denied.

v In June, 1994 the Department of Building and Safety issued an order to comply which stated that zoning variances had expired and all privately owned roads within the limits of the landfill property are considered an extension of the landfill. At the time of this order, BFI was preparing the County portion of their land for landfilling purposes, and the only access then and now is the road in the City portion of their land. The use of this road was again subject to the granting of a zone change or variance. BFI appealed the order to the Zoning Administrator who found that the Department Of Building and Safety had not erred in or abused its discretion in citing the operator.

v December 1994, BFI again was denied access to the City road by the Board of Zoning Appeals and this decision was not appealable to the City Council.

v January 1995, the Zoning Administrator approved a Variance to permit the use of the existing privately owned access road for the purposes of maintenance, monitoring, construction and refuse disposal.

v February 1995, the entire action was appealed by the opponents and the Variance was again denied by the Appeals Board.

v A June 1995 Letter to Councilman Hal Bernson reveals the sham transactions considered by BFI to begin using the agriculturally zoned property for landfill related activities even in the absence of a Variance. They considered dedicating portions of the A-1 zoned property to the County, and the County in turn, would allow BFI to use these portions for landfill related purposes.

v Ultimately, BFI sued the City for not granting the Variance. The cost of the suit was for the monies lost by BFI over the expected life of the landfill. It went into the billions. The City succumbed to this threat and BFI got what they wanted. The County dump began operating on August 5, 1996.

v The status of the dump after 1996: BFI requested permits to return to the City dump and build an expansion on top of the old dump. The old dump does not have a liner. If it is permitted, the idea is to build towards the County dump eventually creating a megadump by joining the two portions together.

v The Zoning Administrator approved their request for a zone change. The land will be an M3 rather than an A-I.

v The PLUM Committee (Planning and Land Use. Management). PLUM Committee approved the recommendations from Planning Department.

v On February 23, 1996, County Counsel prepared Findings and Conditions for final action from the Board of Supervisors to modify Conditions of the previously issued Conditional Use Permit for the Sunshine Canyon Landfill. On July 6, 1999 the NVC received a copy of the modification. Condition # 10D was deleted. The Sanitation District prepared a document for the City Council on Disposal Options, a copy of which was received on January 20, 1999. On Page 6 of that document they lead the City to believe that Condition 10D is in effect. The Condition stipulates that if the expansion permit is denied by the City, the County will deny the City use of Sunshine Canyon for its trash, thereby leaving the City without a trash disposal site.

v The Settlement Agreement between BFI and the City states that the City will be allowed to dump at the County landfill at Sunshine Canyon.

v The City Council on December 8, 1999 approved by 8-7 the expansion of the landfill after several postponements.

v On December 10, 1999, just two days later Mayor Richard Riordan signed the ordinance to expand the dump.

v The North Valley Coalition filed a lawsuit against the City and BFI on January 11, 1999 under the provisions of the California Environmental Quality Act challenging certification of the Sunshine Canyon Landfill Environmental Impact Report and approval of the Sunshine Canyon Landfill Project.

v On July 22, 1999, a lawsuit against BFI was filed for diminution of property value and/or, any health problems attributed to Sunshine Canyon Landfill, by a number of homeowners in Granada Hills.