Author: Roger Bloom

Amplified music and tighter enforcement were among the concerns raised by Councilmember Kathleen Treseder in asking for the review, but much of the Council discussion centered on gas-powered leaf blowers and lawn mowers.

“When I talk to residents of Irvine, the gas-powered leaf blowers are the second-most cited nuisance” behind traffic, said Treseder. She suggested the City ban the gas-powered equipment by next year.

Other Councilmembers and public commenters all agreed that the landscaping equipment noise is a pervasive nuisance.

The often-heated discussion came just one week after Huntington Beach voted to withdraw from the beleaguered agency, and the other two remaining member cities, Buena Park and Fullerton, announced plans to consider a vote to also withdraw from OCPA.

Since rejoining the City Council in late 2020, Councilmember Larry Agran has called out OCPA for its corruption, broken promises, and price-gouging of Irvine electricity ratepayers. Councilmember Carroll, who served as Chair of OCPA until this year, agreed with Agran that it’s time for Irvine to pull the plug on OCPA.

The City of Irvine, like hundreds of cities and school districts across California, is pursuing a shift in how voters elect members of the City Council.

Currently, Irvine voters elect the Mayor and four City Councilmembers. Under the proposed district election system, the Council would be expanded to seven members — a Mayor elected at-large and six Councilmembers, each elected from a separate voting district.

If approved by Irvine voters in March 2024, the new district election system would go into effect in time for the November 2024 election.