Santa Clarita city officials are asking City Council members to request more time from Los Angeles County to evaluate the Chiquita Canyon landfill expansion request, according to the Santa Clarita’s City Council agenda.

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Santa Clarita staffers are recommending City Council to draft a letter requesting more time due to feedback given from residents at the last meeting.

Related: Val Verde Residents Ask County For More Time On Landfill Expansion

“At the (Aug. 26 meeting), members of the public voiced concerns about the expansion of Chiquita Canyon Landfill,” according to the agenda. “These concerns mirror those expressed at prior public meetings in the county.”

The landfill is not located within city limits; however, the landfill does handle most of the city’s disposal needs, even though the city accounts for less than one-fifth of the trash dumped there.

The landfill’s conditional use permit is expected to expire Nov. 24, 2019, unless the landfill gets the approval for an extension it’s seeking.

Related: Chiquita Canyon Expansion Project Open For Public Comment

“There’s a demand for solid waste disposal in Los Angeles County and the current permit for Chiquita Canyon doesn’t allow it to fully use its facility,” said John Musella, spokesman for Chiquita Canyon.

Chiquita Canyon accepts all of the waste from the Santa Clarita Valley and, additionally, from Los Angeles County communities, he said.

While the capacity is expected to double, the ramp up is expected to happen gradually over several years, Musella said. However, Chiquita Canyon would like to get construction of the new entry facility under way as soon as possible, he said.

The 639-acre landfill site, which is owned by Waste Connections and permitted for about 257 acres of waste, is looking to double its daily disposal limits, set aside of land for a potential conversion technology site, improve its entrance and support facilities and extend the life of the landfill, to name a few of the project’s goals.

The landfill is located outside city of Santa Clarita limits about three miles west of the intersection of Interstate 5 and Highway 126.

The proposed project will increase the permitted waste footprint within the existing property line by approximately 143 acres by extending it slightly south toward the existing landfill entrance and to the north and east.

The wastefootprint will increase from the currently permitted acreage, approximately 257 acres, to approximately 400 acres. It would also increase the permitted height of the landfill by 133 feet to a maximum elevation of 1,573 feet.

The project also calls for a doubling of the daily and weekly disposal tonnage.

The permitted maximum daily disposal tonnage will increase from 6,000 to 12,000 tons. The permitted maximum weekly disposal tonnage will increase from 30,000 to 60,000 tons.

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