Unless supporters of the Community Alliance for Open Space lobby their own councilmembers hard between now and June 30th, Alarcon will likely get his way since councilmembers rarely vote against projects outside their district if that councilmember supports it.
That means this issue will likely be costing the City of Los Angeles court fees, attorney fees, and mitigation fees aplenty in the future. The long term debilitating health hazards this site has forced on nearby residents is not to be taken lightly. Vibroacoustic disease and exposure to airborne particulate matter and other hazardous byproducts of open landfills is well-documented. This is a major class-action laswsuit itself.
Lopez Canyon was closed from taking new garbage in 1996. Today it is 13 years behind schedule for full closure.Why? That's a darned good question and one that the City of Los Angeles could be answering in court. It has a lot to do with the addition of new industrial uses at the site while it is being "closed". A green recycling facility installed at the site, promised to be a small, local activity, has grown out of control.
It would be interesting to hear from Richard Alarcon in a moment of honest candor if "getting his way" rather than finding a truly suitable location in CD 7 is really worth the cost/fight/effort and decades of continuing ill will with members of his constituency.
