While questions continue to be raised regarding whether the Orange County Power Authority (OCPA) is actually moving Irvine towards its goal of becoming carbon-neutral by 2030, residents are beginning to take matters into their own hands.

To help, the City has been encouraging homeowners to transition to solar with its Solarize Irvine program, which in the past 18 months has ramped-up and facilitated 170 solar installations throughout Irvine. The program, a joint venture with OC Goes Solar, uses a citizen panel to vet solar installers to recommend, who then charge a discounted rate to homeowners.

With the state primary election coming up on March 5th, proponents of district elections for the Irvine City Council are wasting no time in taking their case to the voters.

If passed by a majority of Irvine voters in the March 5th election, Measure D will amend the City Charter to have Councilmembers elected from districts instead of citywide, which is the current system. Measure D would also expand the Council from the current five members to seven — six Councilmembers elected from districts (each with about 50,000 residents) plus the Mayor, who will continue to be elected citywide.

And then there were two. At the January 9th Irvine City Council meeting, many dozens of residents turned out to air their anguish over the Israel-Hamas war and the mounting mass casualties. Many spoke of relatives or friends either dead, injured or endangered.

However, Mayor Farrah Khan and Vice Mayor Larry Agran volunteered to stay and hear out the remaining speakers. In the end, everyone got their say and the meeting concluded without incident about 45 minutes later.

And silence fell upon the land. The Irvine City Council has voted to get a jump on state law and...

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.

“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.

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.

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.”

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.

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.

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.

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.

The City Council has finalized a measure to be placed on the March 2024 ballot that, if approved by voters, would expand the Council to seven members — a Mayor elected by all Irvine voters; and six Councilmembers elected by voters in their geographical district.

However, their arguments were contradicted by the facts. Map 163 would create API districts ranging from 29% to 44% while Map 151 creates API districts ranging from 27% to 50%. And, Kim & Treseder’s map would create only three renter-majority districts while Map 151 establishes four renter-majority districts.