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...
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Author: Roger Bloom
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.
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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.”
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City Council Approves Temporary Outdoor Music Venue at the Great Park for Summer 2024
The Irvine City Council has endorsed a preliminary plan to create a temporary outdoor music venue in the Great Park — to bridge the gap in live music in Irvine until a permanent amphitheater is completed in 2027.
Under the preliminary plan, a temporary venue with a capacity of about 6,000 would be installed on the North Lawn Open Space area at the Great Park. The venue would be programmed for concerts in the spring and summer, beginning in 2024. The Pacific Symphony would present a half-dozen of those concerts as the venue’s resident orchestra.
Assistant City Manager Pete Carmichael told the Council that the plan could possibly be a break-even proposition for the City, but if there is a shortfall in revenue, the existing Great Park Fund would cover it.
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Irvine City Council Calls for a Full Environmental Review of OCTA’s Proposed Train Maintenance Yard at the Great Park
The Irvine City Council has voted to take the Orange County Transportation Authority (OCTA) to court to force a full environmental review of the transit agency’s plan to build a maintenance yard for its commuter trains near homes adjacent to the Great Park and close to the 5 Freeway.
The OCTA project would create a 90,000-square-foot facility at the 21.3-acre site, which straddles an existing rail spur across from the Travata seniors housing tract.
The work at the rail yard — which would occur at night — includes testing the trains’ brakes and emergency brakes; horns and gongs; and public address and intercom systems.
Residents of Travata have mobilized in recent months to fight the train maintenance yard that would be as little as 500 feet from their homes. The proposed yard is also very near Cypress Village.
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