City Council Votes to Ban Gas-Powered Lawn Equipment
And silence fell upon the land. The Irvine City Council has voted to get a jump on state law and...
Read More
Year: 2024
The City Appears Poised to Follow UCI’s Sustainability Programs
As the City moves to eliminate single-use plastics from its operations and considers an ordinance to ban them citywide, it doesn’t have to look far for a model: since 2018, UC Irvine has phased out plastic drinking cups, straws and convenience bags, replacing them with recyclable or compostable alternatives.
Irvine Councilmember Larry Agran, who supports the City’s efforts to eliminate single-use plastics in its own operations and eventually citywide, points to UCI’s success as a prime example of what can be done right here in Irvine.
“Certainly, in developing our program to eliminate these items from our own City facilities quickly, and then working with the community to transition in the coming year or two, the UCI exprerience can be our guide,” Councilman Agran says.
Read More
Publisher’s Perspective: 2024 Brings New Possibilities for Irvine
As we head into 2024, I want to acknowledge and applaud the three big things our City accomplished last year.
Irvine’s largest industrial polluter — the All American Asphalt plant — was shut down. Construction began for our long-promised Veterans Memorial Park. And, the City Council placed a measure on the March 5th ballot that, if approved by Irvine voters, will expand the Council from its current five members to seven members and transition Irvine to the more democratic system of “District Elections” so that every part of town will have a representative on the City Council.
As for district elections, if Irvine voters pass Measure D in the March 5th election, all parts of town will be assured of their own elected representative. And, grassroots candidates will have a chance to compete fairly for a seat on the Council. That’s what local democracy is supposed to look like!
Read More
The City’s New “Get ‘Er Done!” Department
After being listed for years on the City’s sustainability plan, the transformation of City Hall’s parking lots into solar generating centers began this past summer.
Then, in August, construction of a new Animal Care Center was finally OK’d to go to bid — four years after the design contract had been approved.
And in November, a pedestrian-and-bicycle overpass at the 5 Freeway — to link the north and south legs of the Jeffrey Open Space Trail — was given the green light to go to bid, also four years after the design had been approved.
What do these long-delayed projects have in common?
They are all now in the hands of the City’s new Project Delivery and Sustainability Department, whose sole job is to “get ‘er done.”
Read MoreAdvertisement
