Author: Roger Bloom

After more than a decade of developer schemes, political battles, and ballot measures, the work of transforming the Great Park’s 125-acre “ARDA” site on the former El Toro Marine Corps Air Station (MCAS) began in earnest on Tuesday, May 23rd. At the sound of an air horn at 10:50am, demolition of abandoned military base buildings got underway at the future site of the Veterans Memorial Park & Gardens.

Councilmember Mike Carroll — who also serves as Chair of the Great Park Board of Directors — paid tribute to the “intense grassroots campaign to block the creation of an international airport” and called the day “an important milestone” in the development of a truly Great Park “driven entirely by the community.”

The ongoing saga at the Orange County Power Authority (OCPA) may have reached a decisive turning point. On May 16th, the Huntington Beach City Council voted to withdraw from the embattled four-city agency.

Last December Councilman Agran introduced a motion for Irvine to give OCPA a notice of withdrawal from the agency, effective July 1, 2023. However, Mayor Farrah Khan and Councilmembers Tammy Kim and Kathleen Treseder refused to support Agran’s motion.

There are currently four large warehouse projects under construction in Irvine. And, there are another six warehouse projects — ranging from 48,000 square feet to 650,000 square feet — going through the City’s planning and permit process.

After the vote, Councilman Agran said: “So where does this leave us? We have an out-of-date zoning ordinance, and absolutely no controls in place for the massive warehouses being approved by this Council. Three of my Council colleagues don’t seem to understand the concept of a master planned community.”

This week’s two public hearings will be instrumental in guiding the City’s development for the next two decades.

Planning Commissioner MaryAnn Gaido said: “Residents of the IBC and Spectrum deserve the same protections of master planning enjoyed by the rest of Irvine’s residents. Putting a massive warehouse next to a residential development is clearly wrong, but that’s exactly what we’re looking at if we don’t implement any control measures.”

On Tuesday (April 11th), the Irvine City Council gave final approval of a massive land deal for the City to acquire and remove the All American Asphalt (AAA) plant in north Irvine. The 12-acre asphalt plant and hundreds of acres surrounding it will become part of a 700-acre open space preserve that has been dubbed the “Gateway Preserve.”

The key to the deal is the Irvine Company’s dedication to the City of 475 acres of land surrounding the plant. The dedication includes 80 acres that the City will entitle for residential use consistent with the City’s Master Plan. The proceeds from the sale of the 80 acres to residential developers — estimated to generate around $300 million — will cover the cost of acquiring and dismantling the asphalt plant, as well as the establishment of the Gateway Preserve. Accordingly, the deal will not cost Irvine taxpayers anything.