Irvine could take another step toward creating Orange County’s first veterans cemetery, with a decision this week on providing the state with city land near the Great Park.
Supporters of the proposed cemetery and memorial are planning to show up before the meeting and make their voices heard. The nearest veterans cemetery is in Riverside County.
On a Facebook page for the project, supporters asked colleagues to turn out for the 5 p.m. council meeting as early as 3:30 p.m.
Ahead of the meeting, Councilman Larry Agran has asked his colleagues to convey a 125-acre city-owned parcel to the state to be used as a veterans cemetery.
The move “will put us all one giant step closer to the earliest possible realization” of a veterans cemetery and memorial at the Great Park, Agran wrote in a letter requesting the item. The Great Park is being created out of the former El Toro Marine Corps Air Station.
At the same time, FivePoint Communities, the developer of thousands of homes around the park, has been concerned about how the cemetery would impact home sales. They are planning to sell most of their units to buyers from Asia, and a cemetery near the neighborhood is considered bad feng shui.
Meanwhile, a bill establishing a state veterans cemetery in Orange County has been making its way through the Legislature.
It was passed by the Assembly and the Senate’s veterans affairs committee. The bill will be heard in the Senate Appropriations Committee on Aug. 4.
You can reach Nick Gerda at ngerda@gmail.com, and follow him on Twitter: @nicholasgerda and on Facebook.