Although closed in October of 1953 this site is formerly known as the Bundy Canyon Sanitary III Landfill. It is unknown how long this site operated as a dump but aerial photos from 1938 show a relatively undisturbed area.
Since that time it has been used primarily as decomposed granite borrow pit for the Riverside County Transportation Department.
(“Borrow pit” means any place on a lot or parcel of land where dirt, soil, clay, decomposed granite or other similar material is removed by excavation or otherwise for any purpose other than surface mining operations or a grading project with off-site transport. (www.codepublishing.com/CA/SantaClarita/html/…/SantaClarita1711.html )
Anyone who has driven Bundy Canyon Road has more than like seen this facility as it has been there for years behind the locked gates where one on occasion sees the orange trucks owned by the County of Riverside.
Front Gate off of Bundy
On March 13, 2013 the city of Wildomar, by 5-0 vote of the city council, leased a portion of this facility, for a period of 5 years, to be used as a municipal corporate yard and for special events for a sum of $1.00 per year.
One of the Rotary BBQ’s was held here in April of 2013.
A birds eye view.
It’s kind of funny how in the lease agreement, the County of Riverside description of this property, it is claimed, that the County of Riverside Transportation Department owns a 40 acre parcel along Bundy Canyon Road within the City of Wildomar which is utilized for a materials and storage yard. (See Legal Description below) There is no mention of its former life as a local dump. There is also no mention of this fact in the staff report prepared by City of Wildomar Staff when this item went before the City Council.
The parcel in question is 366-300-079 located at 22800 Bundy Canyon Road. In the County of Riverside LEGAL DESCRIPTION: RECORDED BOOK/PAGE: MB 10/58
SUBDIVISION NAME: SEDCO TRACT 1
LOT/PARCEL: 174
The size of this parcel is listed as 85.78 acres not the 40 acres stated by the County of Riverside in its staff report presented the Board of Supervisors on March 20, 2013.
Looking further into the history of this site one finds that in an “Initial Assessment Report for the widening of Bundy Canyon Road completed in June of 2007, a regulatory records search was conducted during which it was determined the location of this facility was incorrectly noted.
(The closed landfill is located within the boundaries of the currently existing Bundy Canyon surface mine. The location of the landfill is approximately 700 east of Canyon Ranch Road and 700 feet north of Bundy Canyon Road as noted in a state database.)
For those interested in seeing an excellent photographic history of Bundy Canyon Road including the first hint of a freeway starting as early as 1967 you can visit http://www.cityofwildomar.org/uploads/files/environmental/Bundy-Canyon-Phase-I-061507.pdf
Page 69 is the beginning of the historical photographs starting in 1994 going back to 1938. The first photograph of each year contains the site of the former dump as well as the location of the 15 freeway.