Voice of OC (https://voiceofoc.org/tag/veterans-cemetery/)
Nick Berardino – president of Valor, the Veterans Alliance of Orange County and President of Heroes Hall Foundation – talks about the challenges facing what he calls America’s most disrespected minority, veterans, as well as the quest for a veterans cemetery in OC.
The county is transferring property on the eastern edge of Anaheim for potential development as a veterans and civilian cemetery. Supervisors clashed over whether it would let Irvine “off the hook” for a proposed veterans cemetery at the former Marine Corps Air Station El Toro.
The Irvine Planning Commission wants to send the City Council as fast as possible all available environmental reports and any potential development contracts in or near the Great Park that could affect development of a veterans cemetery.
The city of Anaheim will study the use of a 280-acre county-owned property in Anaheim Hills for a countywide veterans cemetery, after the City Council voted unanimously to work with the county and other interest groups on a feasibility study.
Jeanne Baran, Irvine resident and member of the Irvine Watchdog citizens group, writes that the Irvine City Council continues to debate the Veterans cemetery ignoring the results of the June election.
The location of Orange County’s first veterans cemetery remains unclear after the Irvine City Council directed staff to identify a site in or around the Great Park and put the project through the planning process. Councilman Jeff Lalloway brought a motion Tuesday night to reinstate original cemetery site near the heart of the former El Toro Marine Corps Air Station, adjacent to the Great Park. But, before it could go to a vote, Mayor Don Wagner introduced a substitute motion that directs different commissions and city staff to start studying the original site and explore other city-owned land. “Give me a site,” Wagner told Voice of OC after the meeting. “You tell me where it can be … is it a golf course (that’s slated to be built in the Great Park)?
Orange County’s first veterans cemetery could be built next to the 91 freeway and 241 toll road in Anaheim Hills, after county supervisors, in a public meeting Tuesday, directed staff to begin studying the roughly 290 acres of county land.
Orange County supervisors were planning to privately discuss Tuesday whether to explore using county-owned land for a veterans cemetery, but changed their agenda after Voice of OC questioned its legality.
The election saw OC voters eliminating the Democrats’ supermajority in the state Senate; setting up competitive runoff elections for four Republican-held congressional districts and 4th District county supervisor; and delivering the first runoff elections for district attorney and sheriff in more than a quarter century.
The location of Orange County’s first veterans cemetery could change again as the county Board of Supervisors will have a closed session discussion June 26 about the possibility of creating the cemetery on county-owned land near Anaheim Hills.