Simi Valley Landfill Expansion
Below is information provided by Waste Management. I have personally known Mike Smith and Scott Tignac for many years going way back to the GI Rubbish days. Waste Management made a great decision keeping Mike & Scott involved in the Simi Valley operations especially as Mike has been a big corporate supporter of many local causes and charities through out the years. While there are legitimate concerns over the Landfill expansion, I know there are two sides to every story. Links are provided below for review of the proposed expansion plans.
Community Benefits
Why the Modernization and Expansion Project is good for the community.
- Maintains more than 275 good-paying jobs in Ventura County
- Injects more than $48 million annually into the Ventura County economy
- Contributes more than $3.6 million to public agency budgets within Ventura County
- Improves recycling options and increases environmentally-friendly programs
- Increases production of enough green energy to power 6,250 local homes
- Establishes one of the first LEED facilities at a landfill in the county by using recycled and sustainable building materials, energy-efficient lighting, green energy programs and recycled water
- Reduces truck traffic on the Madera Corridor by moving local trucking operations to landfill
- Creates over 500 acres for open space and wildlife habitats
- Provides charitable contributions including annual sponsorships, service donations and employee volunteer support
Looking Ahead
Dear Friends,
We are excited to share some news about our plans for the future.
In the coming weeks, the Ventura County Planning Department will release a draft Environmental Impact Report (EIR) for everyone to review. This document includes detailed information about our plans at the Simi Valley Landfill and Recycling Center.
We hope you get a chance to review the EIR during the 45-day public comment period. Also, in order to make sure that you have all the facts, we will work with the County to ensure that copies of the EIR are available at County offices, local libraries and our website.
Here are some ways you can get involved and show your support:
- Send a letter of support to your Ventura County District Board of Supervisor at www.countyofventura.org
- Take a landfill tour for an up-close look at the project
- Review the project information online on our website (click on “Modernization/Expansion”)
- Attend a public meeting, once the dates of the meetings are announced
- Register your support on our website and join our online community at www.KeepingVenturaCountyClean.com
Our plans for the future will increase green energy programs and help meet the disposal and recycling needs of residents and businesses now and into the future.
For more information about our project or to take a landfill tour, visit
www.KeepingVenturaCountyClean.com/expansion.html or contact Lisa Hemenway at (805) 581-1746.
All the Best,
Mike Smith, Director of Operations
Scott Tignac, Landfill District Manager
You should not use any pictures from Big Sky. I am one of 700 residents that live in the Big Sky area and I’m sure everyone in this area who knows about the landfill expansion is against it. As a matter a fact, we will be collecting signatures in opposition to the expansion through out the area. I suggest you think twice about using Big Sky residents as proponents of the Landfill expansion. DO YOU REALLY WANT TO SEE A 15 STORY BUILDING OF TRASH IN THE SIMI VALLEY HILLS INSTEAD OF WHITE FACE MOUNTAIN??????????? How are you going to sell that building as real estate?????
Brenda,
Thank you for stopping by and commenting. I am not sure where I have claimed that Big Sky residents are proponents of the expansion. Here is my exact position on the landfill:
The City of Simi Valley handed the landfill expansion over to Waste Management on a silver platter.
I am not sure if you are aware of the Unocal development that was proposed for Alamos Canyon. That development would have almost encircled the existing landfill. If the development would have been approved then expansion of the landfill would be very difficult to almost impossible. Any expansion would have been very limited.
What many people do not consider is that when a developer proposes a large-scale development such as Alamos Canyon; the densities of the communities are critical to whether the developer can make the project work. The more restrictions a city puts on a developer – the higher the cost of the development. Your development, Big Sky is a prime example. That project was more than 10 years in planning, the astronomical costs in developing drove the pricing of those homes much higher than they should have been (including your HOA fees).
Because the city of Simi Valley was so inflexible on the densities for the Alamo’s Canyon project, Unocal backed out, abandoned their plans and sold their property to Waste Management (the most logical buyer). We as residents, allowed our city Council and Planning Commission to kill a project which would have encircled the landfill and severely limited future expansion of the landfill.
Now that the city has backed our residence into a corner on Alamos Canyon and the landfill, we are stuck with an expansion project. Your battle is going to be with the County as our city will have very little input on the future of this project.
Understanding this unpleasant predicament we are in, I can at least find a positive in that I know Mike Smith and Scott Tignac. Both are local and, involved in our communities and will be good stewards of this project. I am not saying you have to like the project, but at the very least we have good local people at the helm.
I think that this project is going be one of the most important lessons for the residents of Simi Valley, that the next time we want to kill a project, we should think about all the more serious ramifications that are tied to these properties. This was a very shortsighted view of what should happen around the landfill. The county is not going to stop this project.
These City planning blunders are not limited to the landfill expansion, this is with almost all development in the city. We have very serious issues facing our city in future development, unfortunately the right decisions to fix these problems are not popular decisions.