Officials to Discuss Bailard Landfill’s Future

The Oxnard City Council agreed Tuesday to meet with officials from the county and seven cities Feb. 19 and discuss whether to extend the operating permit of the Bailard Landfill by two years.

The dump on Victoria Road near Oxnard’s border is scheduled to close in late 1993. But the Ventura County Regional Sanitation District, a public agency that operates the landfill, has requested more time to find a new site.

A county study in 1985 identified Weldon Canyon, a scenic canyon between Ventura and Ojai, as the best of 38 possible sites for a new landfill. But opponents have said traffic generated by the dump would clog already congested roads and create pollution that would drift into the Ojai Valley.

A majority of the council members said last month that they oppose a permit extension for Bailard. However, the council unanimously agreed to discuss the matter further before making a final decision.

City officials said the 7 p.m. meeting at City Hall will be open to the public. Those invited will include representatives for the Ventura Regional Sanitation District, the county of Ventura, the cities of Ventura, Port Hueneme, Camarillo, Ojai, Simi Valley, Thousand Oaks and Moorpark and officials from Waste Management Inc., which operates a large landfill in Simi Valley.

Council members said they do not expect to make a final decision on the permit at the February meeting but hope to get more information about Bailard and the proposed landfill at Weldon Canyon.