
Welcome to the Granada Hills North Neighborhood Council website!
The Granada Hills North Neighborhood Council is officially certified by the City of Los Angeles to serve as a forum for stakeholders to address issues in Granada Hills and to communicate with the City of Los Angeles.
What's a stakeholder?
A GHNNC stakeholder is defined in our bylaws as anyone who lives, works, or owns property within the Neighborhood (See map for neighborhood boundaries); and also those who declare a stake in
the Neighborhood and affirm the factual basis for it. Council membership is open to all Stakeholders.
LAPD Warns Granada Hills Seniors About Telephone Scam
The Los Angeles Police Department is warning seniors who live in the Granada Hills area about a telephone scam.
They say some residents are being asked to wire money to callers who claim to be their grandchildren.
Callers usually ask for bail money or financial help to return home from a foreign country. They are usually emotional and ask for their parents not to be contacted.
The money is always asked to be sent using Western Union.
Authorities say money should never be wired without first verifying someone’s identity and story with other family members.

Putting Teeth into the City's Barking Dog Ordinance
This week the City Council changed the City's ordinance regulating nuisance dogs, establishing a new hearing procedure and fine structure.
Before, a citation could only be issued for licensed dogs because the citation was attached to the license. The owner first had to be forced to get a license. Under the new code, Animal Control officers can now issue citations even if the dog is unlicensed. (The dog owner must still get a license.)
A dog is a "nuisance" if it barks continuously for 10 minutes or for 30 minutes in a three-hour period. The owner first receives a written warning allowing them to improve the situation. If it persists, a hearing is held where the owner could get a $250 fine for the first offense, $500 for a second offense and $1,000 for a third offense.
To report nuisance barking dogs, please call West Valley Animal Care Center at (888) 452-7381.

Proposed Amended Bylaws
Click the following links to download the
“clean” final version, or the the marked-up version, which shows where each article in the new version came from in our existing bylaws, and what changes the Policy & Rules Committee made.
Final Version (PDF)
Final Version with Markups (DOC)
2012 GHNNC Budget Approved
Click here for the approved budget (XLS)
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Interested in Participating on the GHNNC Board?
We are actively looking for candidates interested in serving on our board for the following positions:
- Small Business and Worker
- District 2
- Parks Representative
Information on the positions can be found on our website, or people interested can e-mail the President, Kim Thompson at kthompson@ghnnc.org. The first step is filling out a stakeholder verification form, also found on our website under "Resources" -> "Downloadable Documents", and sending it to Kim Thompson.

A Brief Explanation About the Sunshine Canyon Dump Odors
Several of our stakeholders have been reporting increasing odors from the dump. This explanation was written by Wayde Hunter, GHNNC's Sunshine Canyon Landfill expert, in an attempt to explain to you why the odors are getting worse, and what you can do to help stop them.
Many years ago when BFI was the sole owner of Sunshine Canyon Landfill, we had problems with them but rarely were they odors. Since that time they were bought out by Allied Waste (who still kept BFI's name) who also gave us problems, again generally not of an odorous nature. Several years ago BFI/Allied Waste was bought out by Republic (now the second largest disposer of waste in US) and they too kept the BFI name. However, along with the other violations the odor problem skyrocketed in late 2009. I personally believe that the problem is caused by a number of things:
- Change in the type of trash being taken (Republic has 6 Material Recovery Facilities that produce real stinky trash).
- They were using tarps instead of clean dirt as daily cover and they were removing the dirt placed on the landfill over the weekend and reopening the working face (see below).
- The landfill has moved much higher and much closer to us than it was before.
- The daily tonnage has increased to almost 10,000 tons per day which is almost double what we had been getting. The list goes on.......
Since late 2009 the South Coast Air Quality Management District (SCAMD) has cited them numerous times including issuing a Notice of Abatement for Odors which required them to make changes in their operation and to conduct studies to find ways to stop the odors. This order ran from March 2010 and continues today. Unfortunately, the odors did not stop although they were not as bad as experienced in late 2009.
Because the odors had not abated, the County of Los Angeles ordered BFI/Republic in September 2010 to stop using tarps as daily cover and to start using 9" of clean dirt as daily cover and also ordered them to stop uncovering the working face. Again, while this has not stopped the odors it has prevented them from getting much worse and most likely has helped lessen them a bit.
While I know that this is of little comfort to you, the GHNNC and other organizations such as the North Valley Coalition, and the SCL-CAC continue to press the County, the City, and the SCAMD for relief from this situation. This cannot go on forever and the City and the County must make Republic/BFI stop this problem. There are other operational changes that can be ordered that can be ordered however I don't believe that there is the political will to consider revoking their permit to operate.
The best help that you can be right now is to call 1-800-CUT-SMOG which is the SCAQMD's hotline to report odors and continue to do it as often as there are odors. The SCAQMD will also ask what the smell is like and if you know where the odors are coming from. If you can say Sunshine Canyon Landfill or from the north if that is where you believe it originates OK, if not just say you are not sure. Encourage your neighbors to call if they too are smelling odors. The SCAQMD will send out inspectors to validate the odors (they are trained and can recognize the source) and if they can be traced back to BFI/Republic's Sunshine Canyon Landfill "they will be given a Notice of Violation".
It also never hurts to call your local Council District 12 councilman Mitchell Englander and complain. You can also be of further help to us by staying in contact with us and also to be added to our various distribution lists which will contain information as to what is happening and what meetings are occurring.
Good News Re: the Odor Nuisance at Sunshine Canyon Landfill
For those of you who have been experiencing odors from the Sunshine Canyon Landfill over this past year and who have been expressing a lot of frustration as to why it has taken so long to correct this situation, this letter is for you.
As a result of the complaints there were a series of seven hearings held in Granada Hills, Van Nuys, and Diamond Bar by the South Coast Air Quality Management District Hearing Board. After Republic/BFI made some operational changes and promised to conduct studies by their consultants as how to prevent odors in the future, the Hearing Board subsequently allowed them to continue operations using tarps instead of daily cover soil and to continue the practice of grading off dirt from the working face that had been placed over the trash on the weekend.
While the odors have lessened somewhat, due in part to some of these operational changes, the fact is that the Van Gogh School (one of the most impacted areas) was out for summer vacation, and the change in atmospherics (night drainage, prevailing winds) at this time of year was most probably the largest contributing factor to the decline.
However, we are suppose to be protected by the State, the County and the City of Los Angeles from any nuisance caused by this landfill. Because this situation has gone on far too long and because complaints continue, it is the County Task Force that has finally taken up this issue with the County Department of Public Works resulting in this letter to stop the aforementioned tarp and dirt removal practices . These two changes will result in improved odor control and potentially eliminate odors completely.
Click here to read the detailed report about this decision.

Graffiti Watch Program
The Beautification Committee is launching a Graffiti Watch program.
Your help is needed to stop graffiti now. When you see graffiti,
contact Your Local "Graffiti Watchers" and have graffiti
removed in 48 Hours:
Graffiti
Watch Flyer

Report Air Quality Problems to (800) CUT-SMOG
Some residents in Granada Hills have reported foul odors coming from the area around Sunshine Canyon Landfill.
In response, we contacted the South Coast Air Quality Management District (AQMD), and they have sent an inspector to the landfill to investigate the odors and measure air quality.
Anyone who wants to report foul odors or other air-quality related problems can call the AQMD at (800) CUT-SMOG.
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