CITY TO STUDY URBAN LANDFILLS INQUIRY WILL LOOK 20 YEARS INTO FUTURE OF TRASH.

Byline: Rick Orlov Staff Writer

The Los Angeles City Council agreed Wednesday to pay for a $100,000 study on urban landfills using money from a trust fund created to benefit neighbors of Sunshine Canyon Landfill.

Councilman Greig Smith said the $100,000 - the last of the money remaining in the $1 million community amenities trust fund financed a decade ago by the dump's operator - will pay for a study on ways the city can deal with landfills over the next 20 years.

``We want to look at all the alternatives that are out there,'' said Smith, who represents the Granada Hills area. ``We need to bring in some experts to look at what other jurisdictions are doing.''

Smith recently returned from a trip to Europe, where he met with officials to discuss how various countries handle their trash. He said he plans to meet in coming weeks with various neighborhood councils to discuss his findings with them.

Mary Edwards, head of the North Valley Coalition, which has fought Sunshine Canyon for years, said she has no objection to using the trust fund money to finance the study - as long as it leads to some firm action.

``We don't just want to see a study that will languish on some shelf somewhere,'' Edwards said. ``We know there are companies and jurisdictions that are salivating for a chance to get our trash. We are just afraid this will become a cost issue for the city and we will end up with a dump again.''

Edwards said the trust fund was used to offset the impact of the years of operation at the landfill, which currently is located in unincorporated Los Angeles County but has gotten city clearance to expand into Granada Hills.

Browning Ferris Industries, which operates Sunshine Canyon, created the fund, with the money being used for a park, a nature center at a nearby school and other improvements.

Mayor James Hahn has continued to promise he will stop dumping the city's residential trash in Sunshine Canyon by 2006, and will fight to put an end to urban landfills in Los Angeles.

However, a memo written last week by Chief Legislative Analyst Ron Deaton and City Administrative Officer Bill Fujioka raised questions about ending the city's contract at Sunshine Canyon. The memo estimates that hauling trash to another dump could increase costs as much as $16 million a year.

Edwards said the issues outlined in the memo raise concerns among residents.

``If they talk only about money, we will be facing a problem,'' Edwards said.

The memo recommends the city hire a consultant to conduct comprehensive study of waste-collection and disposal services.

Smith said he wants the executives' plan delayed while the study he wants is completed.

In their report, the two officials noted there is a June 2005 deadline for deciding the future of the city's contract to use Sunshine Canyon. They suggested a separate ``best-practices study'' be conducted on how the city should deal with its trash.

``This study would evaluate the city's current operations, detail strengths and weaknesses, evaluate our current fee structure, provide comparative information on the city's operations and fees with other municipal agencies and include information on the availability of alternative options and technologies for refuse disposal,'' the report said.

``This type of study would provide the groundwork for making decisions on where we want to go in the future.''

The city Board of Public Works is scheduled this month to consider proposals from various companies seeking to replace Browning Ferris Industries.

Rick Orlov, [phone]

rick.orlov(at)dailynews.com