Community Corner

Daily Dose: Sycamore Landfill Negotiations Gain Ground

Wednesday night's City Council meeting included a hint that a settlement will soon be reached between the cities of San Diego and Santee.

Sycamore Landfill

(UPDATE: see City of Santee press release)

Throughout Wednesday's City Council meeting, Mayor Randy Voepel had a stoic look, was noticeably less playful, and seemed deep in thought. When he adjourned the meeting he announced a closed session for negotiations with "the evil empire of San Diego"- he had his game face on.

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He then mentioned to the press that it was likely that the City of Santee would be wrapping up negotiations with the City of San Diego over the proposed Sycamore Landfill expansion- which is owned by San Diego and could as much as quadruple the number of trucks coming in on Mast Boulevard. Santee wants their fair share of concessions, and could be the first city to earn concessions from a landfill that .

Mayor Voepel wouldn't budge on specifics, like how much money the city might receive or what it might be spent on.

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"All budgets are like a burrito: if you squeeze one end, it pops out the other," he said.

Voepel said once the negotiations are complete, the contract has to be signed, and it could be public within three to five days.

Thursday morning, the with more details:

"Under terms of the settlement, landfill operators agree to reduce the height of the future expansion by 95 feet; to create contoured earthen berms between the trash operations and Santee view sheds; to reduce future daily dumping by more than 5,000 tons as compared to earlier plans, thereby reducing hundreds of truck trips; and to provide resources for additional road and infrastructure improvements to reduce impacts from the expansion.

"The settlement contract document has not been finalized, but the City of Santee and landfill owners have agreed in concept to all terms necessary to end the litigation."

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