Voice of OC (https://voiceofoc.org/tag/irvine-city-council/)
Irvine and Newport Beach officials started 2020 by pushing back against new state-mandates to zone for thousands of new homes, as California continues to grapple with a housing shortage.
Laguna Beach and Costa Mesa pushed back last week with resolutions opposing the expansion by the Southern California Association of Governments (SCAG), as Irvine and Newport Beach gear up for similar votes Tuesday night.
City Manager John Russo could be fired at Tuesday night’s City Council meeting, with no reason stated publicly yet, according to one City Council member.
Assemblywoman Sharon Quirk-Silva announced Tuesday she will amend her legislation to include a proposed golf course that could be the home Orange County’s first veterans cemetery after a five-month battle between state Legislators and Irvine City Councilmembers.
The Irvine City Council, joining at least six other Orange County cities, has adopted a controversial temporary policy that potentially shuts some council members out of holding public discussions on issues that others on the dais don’t want.
Orange County’s first veterans cemetery got $20 million in state funding when Gov. Gavin Newsom signed the budget, but the cemetery has yet to find a site in Irvine after battles between the city and the state legislature.
The official location of the proposed Southern California Veterans Cemetery in Irvine remains unclear after the California Senate Veterans Affairs Committee moves legislation naming one site, while Irvine is looking at another one.
The State Legislature is eyeing the original site near the heart of the old Marine Corps Air Station El Toro in Irvine, while city leaders, concerned about funding, also are eyeing a golf course site.
Irvine resident Lauren Johnson-Norris, who chairs the Irvine Community Services Commission, writes that voters should decide their elected leaders, arguing that a special election should be held to fill the vacant seat on the Irvine City Council.
Long time Irvine resident Susan Sayre is asking City Council applicants if they would act to reduce special interest influence, act to amend the Irvine City Charter and move to district representation and require the Irvine Community Land Trust to adhere to the provisions of Irvine’s Sunshine Ordinance.