Challenge
Browning Ferris Industries (BFI) wanted the City of Los Angeles’ permission to reopen the City portion of Sunshine Canyon Landfill in the northern end of the San Fernando Valley. This would be a difficult proposition since incumbent Councilman Hal Bernson was successful eight years earlier in his attempt to close the landfill. If BFI failed to execute the proper strategy, the landfill would again become a very controversial issue and face the wrath of Hal Bernson.

Solution
In order to develop a successful community relations strategy, Englander identified the “saints,” “sinners,” and “undecideds.” The process began by creating and conducting a community assessment survey. Englander also created a telephone survey that was cross-matched with high propensity voters. These were active and informed individuals likely to express an opinion and likely to be involved in community activities.

Those responding favorably were entered into a database and became the core group of identified supporters. Based on the results of this survey, Englander created and implemented a strategic plan that invited Valley residents to visit the landfill to see for themselves how a safe, environmentally friendly and modern landfill is run and how it can help keep trash collection and disposal costs down.

A speakers bureau program was created and presentations were made to numerous business, civic and homeowner groups in the Valley, promoting the tax savings benefits of reopening the landfill. Englander then created a direct mail program in the San Fernando Valley that identified approximately 2,000 supporters for BFI’s Sunshine Canyon Landfill proposal. These residents voiced their support to their City Council representatives and we delivered letters to the targeted council offices at a ratio of over 20 to 1 in favor of the landfill. Englander also organized and executed a letters-to-the-editor campaign with our identified supporters and was successful in securing favorable placement of a prominent op/ed piece that appeared in the Los Angeles Times Valley Metro section on a Sunday.

Result
In February of 2000, the City of Los Angeles Planning Commission approved BFI’s Sunshine Canyon Landfill application. That approval came before the entire City Council later that year. Our identified supporters again demonstrated their support to the full council and the council approved Sunshine’s application. Since this successful effort, Englander has continued representing BFI and Sunshine Canyon Landfill, and is currently working on a public affairs campaign geared toward revising Sunshine’s Conditional Use Permit so that it may take in more trash per day to deal with the ever-growing waste needs of the residents of Los Angeles County.