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.

The City Council shot down a request by Vice Mayor Tammy Kim to have the City of Irvine contribute $50,000 for an event that will be held in Anaheim next month.

Mayor Farrah Khan, along with Councilmembers Larry Agran and Mike Carroll echoed the public’s concerns while also questioning the propriety of using Irvine Recovery Fund money for the event. That fund consists of federal dollars that the City received to help it recover from the COVID pandemic.

The Tanaka family — led by Glenn Tanaka and his son, Ken — farms three sites in Orange County, but the hub of their enterprise is the high-profile, 30-acre site at University Drive and Michelson Drive, adjacent to Strawberry Farms Golf Club.

It all makes for a fun and educational day for kids and adults alike. And, it is the culmination of a lot of work and creative adaptation by the Tanaka family.

A new pilot program rolled out, literally, on August 24th, the first day of school. That’s when a school bus — partially funded by the City of Irvine — began ferrying students between University High School and the Quail Hill and Los Olivos neighborhoods.

At the request of Mayor Farrah Khan and Councilmember Larry Agran, the Council took up the matter at its August 8th meeting, and voted 5-0 in support of the funding. As a result, the bus for Uni High students in Quail Hill and Los Olivos was ready to roll as the new school year began.

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.