A final resting place for Irvine veterans and residents could be coming to the city’s Great Park, with one city council member proposing to study building a columbarium.
While city leaders debated building a veterans cemetery at the park for over a decade, the effort fizzled out after local veterans groups got unanimous support from every city in the county to move the cemetery to a patch of land in Anaheim’s Gypsum Canyon.
[Read: How Did Irvine Fail to Build a Veterans Cemetery After Nearly a Decade of Debate?]
Irvine Mayor Larry Agran has continued to call for the cemetery’s construction in the city, saying it belongs on the remains of the former Marine Corps Air Station El Toro at the park, but his efforts have not picked up much support.
Now, Councilman James Mai is suggesting the city could instead build a columbarium, which is designed to store ashes above ground.
The columbarium would “primarily serve Irvine residents,” according to his proposal, including those who’ve lived in Irvine for a defined minimum period, people with “strong ties to the Irvine community,” or veterans who once served at El Toro.
Irvine leaders are set to discuss the idea at their meeting on Jan. 13.
Mai’s proposal comes just weeks after he voted to remove any mention of a columbarium at the park in a split city council vote, arguing the neighborhood surrounding that part of the park had changed too much to make any cemetery a possibility.
[Read: Irvine City Council Splits on Plans for Future of Great Park]
“There’s a different community that lives there,” Mai said at the council’s Dec. 9 meeting. “I’m not going to be able to support this cemetery simply out of respect for who’s living there.”
In his proposal, Mai said he “fully and unequivocally” supports the Gypsum Canyon site, but that this was still a good opportunity to honor residents and veterans.
“This municipal columbarium is not a replacement for a veterans cemetery,” Mai wrote. “Instead, it is a municipal facility that may include a designated area honoring veterans, particularly those who served at MCAS El Toro.”
Mai noted that this move would let the city honor the intent of the voters who requested a cemetery at the park in a 2020 initiative city leaders adopted, despite their city attorney pointing out the initiative had no binding power.
But Mail also said city leaders need to acknowledge the homeowners who live next to the park who don’t want a cemetery there.
“After more than 20 years of discussion without resolution, Irvine has an opportunity to move forward responsibly and community-focused,” Mai wrote. “This approach honors voter intent, respects current residents, preserves historical legacy, and clearly supports the Gypsum Canyon Veterans Cemetery as Orange County’s sole veterans cemetery.”
Noah Biesiada is a Voice of OC reporter. Contact him at nbiesiada@voiceofoc.org.