Browning-Ferris Loses Appeal Over Oak Trees

The Los Angeles City Council on Wednesday refused to free Browning-Ferris Industries from a requirement to replace oak trees destroyed by garbage dumping at the Sunshine Canyon Landfill, but the decision may be too late to have any effect.

The council voted 10 to 0, without discussion, to deny the company’s appeal against conditions imposed on its dump permit.

But the victory may be a hollow one for homeowners and environmentalists opposed to the landfill, said Mary Edwards, leader of the North Valley Coalition, a group that has fought the Sunshine Canyon dump for years.

By appealing, Browning-Ferris has stalled enforcement of the permit for so long that it will be easy to avoid complying before the permit expires Sept. 21, Edwards said.

Edwards, however, said she will “try like hell” to get Browning-Ferris to replace the oak trees in the next month. “There’s no question they appealed this permit and protracted the whole thing so they wouldn’t have to perform,” she added.

Although the matter came before the council as an appeal by Browning-Ferris, the firm recently indicated that it did not intend to press the matter, said Greig Smith, chief deputy to Councilman Hal Bernson.

Bernson, who represents the north San Fernando Valley, has been a staunch foe of the landfill.