This is the proposed site of garbage dumpsters in Temescal Canyon Park.
Temescal Proposed as Dumpster Location
Eight large garbage dumpsters are proposed for Temescal Canyon Park, just below the alternative high school. The current park maintenance yard at the Palisades Recreation Center, where they have been located, will be closed.
In October, the Park Advisory Board voted to approve to move the large City trash containers that were housed in the park maintenance yard to south of the tennis courts. An outcry from tennis players and residents south of Frontera Road stopped that move.
The maintenance yard is located north of the tennis courts and just south of the proposed new picnic area. The yard has an incinerator, a small brick building, six large garbage containers and several smaller trash cans. There is also room for Rec Center personnel to park in the area.
Why would the current maintenance yard be closed? Huntington neighbors complained about rats and early morning trash pickups. At that October meeting, PAB Vice President Robert Harter said that Jimmy Dunne (who is spearheading the Veterans’ Garden/bocce courts project at the park) initially suggested moving the trash cans, to provide more “green” space adjacent to the [proposed] bocce courts.
At the January 16 quarterly PAB meeting, Raul Leon, the L.A. Department of Rec and Parks principal grounds maintenance supervisor, said that he had asked himself, “Where are viable options to move dumpsters?”
He said that after the tennis court idea was squashed, Parks and Rec moved four dumpsters out of the park, one went as far as Motor, another was moved to Rustic Canyon.
“I began a study about where are we going to move the dumpsters,” said Leon who then thought with grading and leveling at the upper portion of Temescal Canyon, it would allow a garbage truck access to the park area.
“We have eight lockable trash containers and we can put an 8-foot tall fence with two gates and a wind screen around it,” Leon said.
He said by moving the dumpsters to Temescal, there would be no bins at Palisades Rec Center and trash from Temescal, the Rec Center and the new Potrero Park would all be taken to Temescal.
Trash from the parks is collected daily and would be picked up there by a larger truck two to three times a week. Leon noted that it was too far to take trash from the Palisades to a facility off Motor Avenue.
“The trash generated in this area, has to be deposited here,” Leon said.
Members of the Park Advisory Board (seated left to right), Robert Harter, Lee Trask and Bob Benton listen to Raul Leon’s presentation about moving dumpsters to Temescal.
Leon was asked about the cost for grading and leveling the park area and who would fund it. He thought it would be more than $50,000 for the construction and he wasn’t sure about the funding. The park doesn’t currently have the money for this project, so residents would have to raise the money.
He was asked if the City would need Coastal Commission approval and he thought it possibly would.
Dunne, who was at the meeting told Leon, “What is the best way to deal with this? You have come up with the best solution. This is best for the community.”
Leon was asked if any of the people who live along the Temescal Canyon Rim had been notified.
Palisades Recreation Center Director Erich Haas said, “I don’t think that the people along Temescal got the message that this would be on the agenda. And I don’t think they know about it. I just found out today that Raul would be attending this meeting.”
PAB Member Bob Benton said, “We have to put out a public notice and meeting to discuss this.” Benton said that voting or establishing a committee to go forward would be premature.
Haas said, “If the folks says ‘no’ this is not going to happen, then we can move on. If no one has a problem with it, then we know.”
In October, the PAB board approved the move of the trash cans to the tennis center, without hearing from tennis players.
Before calling for a vote in October, Harter said: “Let’s assume that people on the tennis courts won’t want this. And second, let’s assume the houses nearest [on Frontera] won’t want it. Considering this, that it’s not perfect, let’s vote to accept it.”
And they did, with nine people voting yes, and one person abstaining.
This time the PAB Board is waiting for input from people who live on the Temescal Rim or others who walk or drive along Temescal Canyon Park.
If Temescal neighbors are okay with the trash cans, then construction plans would have to be drawn and money raised. It is unclear if the fence would be paid for by the City. If landscaping is sought for around the fence, the cost would be higher.
Most likely the Coastal Commission will have to be consulted because this area is in the Coastal Zone and possibly a traffic study done, because Temescal is a dangerous, high-speed roadway.
The matter will be placed on the April PAB meeting agenda. If you want to voice an opinion about the proposal to move dumpsters to Temescal Canyon Park, email: erich.haas@lacity.org.
Nobody lives on either side of Temescal Canyon Drive unless they’re homeless and, hopefully, temporary residents. Doubtless the homeowners on Erskine Drive at the top of the westside hill would be furious to have all the noise, smells, and mess connected with trash bins and their frequent pickup nearby them. Years ago, they wouldn’t let PaliHigh put in a parking lot in that huge LAUSD-owned “vacant” (long unoccupied now except by a total tangle of invasive vegetation). The sidewalk alongside that upper NW section of the City’s Temescal Canyon Park proposed for the pickup site is often, of course, almost totally covered by cut tree wood, in various states of deterioration, dumped there for “recycling,” as by firewood collectors and woodworking craftspeople. Construction crews and landscape-maintenance services do this to avoid the travel, inspection, and fees required in proper tree disposal. The sidewalk and gutters are often deep in rotten wood debris–which is rarely cleaned up nowadays, and could choke up the storm drain culverts and maybe the costly new water recycling system. That site is ugly, messy, and stinky enough already. This new plan will add further to eyesores in that section of this mostly ill-tended, ill-used public park. But most people, including well-groomed Palisadians, just zip by it all at 60+mph and just don’t. They get exercise in their gyms and yoga classes.
A Coastal Permit is required and it will definitely be strongly opposed. This is a case of one neighborhood moving its problem to another neighborhood.
Moving the trash containers to Temescal Canyon is unacceptable.
Palisades Rec Center and the new Park plan must provide for its own collection and handling of trash.
Temescal Canyon is a designated Scenic Highway and a fragile environmental ecosystem with a naturally occurring spring that runs year round. As well, the proposed trash location is next to Temescal Academy, the Pali High continuing education school – the noise would be disruptive to students not to mention the prevailing aroma.
This proposal will not work. Everyone needs to take care of their own trash; just moving it to another location is ill-considered.
I believe the trash bins for our park should remain at our park. They are there for a purpose :to accept the trash generated in the park by all of us on a daily basis. The maintenance area also serves other purposes :storage of mobile carts, tools, cleaning equipment and should not be eliminated. If the department is looking for additional uses for this area I suggest placing all the huge hulking unsightly storage bins that are now scattered all over the recreation center into that space
I agree. Moving the bins makes no sense except for catering to the personal wishes of adjacent residents and it will be an inconvenience to the park staff. Also the maintenance yard should be preserved for many reasons . If Eric is looking for additional use of the space how about moving all those unsightly and path and sight obstructive storage bins off the playground and parking areas and into the yard space ?