Why not use landfill expansion to Simi's advantage?
News that Waste Management Inc. wants to double the size of the Simi Valley Landfill may not carry the stink that some people think it does.

Despite valid concerns over increased truck traffic and the impact the expansion would have on Simi's surrounding natural habitats, city officials may have the ability to leverage the disposal company's desire for a bigger landfill into acquiring the one resource that Simi Valley needs more than any other- open space.

Because the expansion will affect Simi and its citizens more than any other community in Ventura County, the City Council ought to request that in return for supporting the expansion, the landfill donate a portion of its 235-acre property in the Simi hills toward one of the many municipal projects that are in need of more space.

Wouldn't you being willing to support the expansion if it meant that a new athletic field- for say, the Simi Valley Vikings- could be provided? Or that new land would be made available to host communitywide events such as Simi Valley Days or the Cajun Festival?

It's commonplace nowadays in dealings between cities and private developers for such land deals to take place. For example, the city and park district were able to coax the developers of Big Sky Ranch into providing Big Sky Park for Simi Valley Girls Softball.

With that in mind, we think the approval of Waste Management's plans by the County Board of Supervisors should be contingent upon turning over some of the landfill property for public use.

Nobody's jumping for joy over news that the place where we dump our garbage wants to get bigger, much bigger. But as the saying goes, "One person's trash is another person's treasure."

In the case of the Simi Valley Landfill, proper action from city officials could lead to the creation of a park, an events site or an athletic field that residents will be able to treasure long after the landfill has filled up.