Sunshine Landfill Operator Vows to Continue Expansion

The operator of the controversial Sunshine Canyon Landfill near Granada Hills said Thursday that scuttling expansion plans is the farthest thing from his mind, despite a city move this week to block the project.

“We are not giving up. We are not going away,” said Arnie Berghoff, director of government and community affairs for Los Angeles-based Browning-Ferris Industries (BFI). “We have made a substantial investment in the landfill, and we intend to recoup on that investment.”

On Wednesday, the Los Angeles City Council declined to review a Feb. 28 decision by a city zoning panel to prohibit BFI from using the only road into the landfill property, meaning the Board of Zoning Appeals action will stand.

The landfill operator won approval last year from Los Angeles County to expand the county side of the facility. However, the City Council decided in 1991 to shut down the city portion of the dump, partly because of neighbors’ concerns.

A community group that opposed the dump’s expansion exulted in the council’s latest move.

“It’s kind of a neat win--it’s very exciting,” said Rosemary Woodlock, attorney for the North Valley Coalition of Concerned Citizens. “They’re going to rethink the whole thing.”

Berghoff hinted that BFI could bring a legal challenge to the City Council’s move, but declined to provide specifics.

“We have numerous avenues that we could pursue, some of which are clearly legal,” he said. “We just need to make sure we follow the proper order” of steps that the company could take.

Berghoff added that the city’s decision “significantly damages” a court settlement reached by the city and BFI in which, he claimed, the city agreed to promptly process company applications to use the access road. The city attorney’s office, however, has said the city did not agree to give BFI that permission.