HAHN'S MESSY LEGACY TRASH: TIME RUNNING OUT ON SUNSHINE CANYON LANDFILL CONTRACT PLEDGE.

Byline: Kerry Cavanaugh Staff Writer

With Mayor James Hahn about to leave office, Granada Hills residents are still waiting to see if he will fulfill the promise he made four years ago to stop dumping the city's trash in nearby Sunshine Canyon Landfill.

Time is running out. While the City Council has the ultimate decision - which, coincidentally, must be made by June 30 when he leaves office - Hahn has long been an outspoken advocate for hauling Angelenos' trash outside city limits.

The Board of Public Works - all Hahn appointees - will meet Wednesday to consider the two proposals for the city's lucrative trash contract.

It can recommend extending the city's contract with Browning-Ferris Industries, which operates Sunshine Canyon, or pay $22 million a year more to contract with Waste Management, which would haul the trash to landfills it owns in the Antelope Valley and Riverside County.

``I expect the mayor to fulfill his campaign promise to the community. Maybe we'll get to see if he gets to fulfill his promise or not,'' said Wayde Hunter, president of the North Valley Coalition, a community group that has fought to close the landfill for two decades.

Residents in each of the communities where Los Angeles' trash would go object to becoming a dumping ground for the city's 3,600 tons of refuse a day.

Mayor-elect Antonio Villaraigosa has also said he wants to end the city's contract with Sunshine Canyon, but that decision will likely be made before he is sworn in on July 1.

And Hahn's office refuses to say whether the lame-duck mayor will continue advocating an end to the city's contract with Sunshine Canyon Landfill.

While he was city attorney, Hahn successfully defended the city's approval that allowed Sunshine Canyon Landfill to expand into Granada Hills.

Then, while running for mayor in 2001, he promised Valley residents he would end the city's reliance on urban landfills - a pledge he renewed during his term as mayor and during his re-election campaign.

But some observers say Hahn never really did the legwork needed to make his promise a reality.

``I think this is where the mayor actually did make a mistake. He went out there and pledged to get out of Sunshine Canyon in 2006 and he never made a plan to do anything,'' said Mitchell Englander, chief of staff to Councilman Greig Smith.

``We thought he was overreaching with that promise and executive order.''

But Hahn supporters said he was the first to set in motion a significant change in the city's landfill policy. During Hahn's tenure, the city bought a giant trash transfer station downtown, which is crucial to hauling trash by truck or rail to remote landfills.

``I think folks are very, very seriously planning on moving out of landfills in the city,'' said Julie Butcher, whose Service Employees International Union Local 347 endorsed Hahn's unsuccessful re-election campaign.

Hahn's desire to get out of Sunshine has been met with some concern among City Council members who worry about potential cost increases and a drain on the general fund, which now pays for trash service along with public safety and street services.

Some council members have also expressed reservations about a proposal to charge residential trash customers up to $38.60 per month - and that fee is based on the current Sunshine Canyon Landfill contract. Trucking trash outside city limits could raise the rate higher.

Hahn's staff has warned that his trash plan could cost more money, and Sunshine Canyon Landfill opponents, who recognize the dump won't close but hope to see its business cut, said Hahn and Villaraigosa can't back down.

``I don't know how a mayor and a mayor-elect can promise you things and then later say 'Oh, sorry, there's no money in the budget for this,' '' said Kim Thompson, a Granada Hills activist.

Given the June 30 deadline to decide on the trash contract, Bureau of Sanitation Director Rita Robinson said she is continuing on the path Hahn set.

``We have to march along till we're given direction from the council or the current mayor.''

Kerry Cavanaugh, [phone]

kerry.cavanaugh(at)dailynews.com

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L.A.'s TRASH DEBATE

SOURCE: Daily News research

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