Voice of OC (https://voiceofoc.org/tag/veterans-cemetery/)
The California Department of Veterans Affairs told local officials it would be examining two sites in Irvine, choosing to pass over the city’s decision and make their own choice.
The Irvine council approved the initiative without sending it to the ballot and can now search for funding, but the city attorney raised concerns that the initiative is not binding.
After verification by county election officials, the council could decide to approve the initiative tonight or send it to the November ballot.
In-person voting has been cancelled for a special recall election in Westminster. It’s still up in the air whether Santa Ana’s special recall election will follow suit.
Gov. Gavin Newsom signed Assemblywoman Sharon Quirk-Silva’s bill allowing a cemetery to be built on one of two sites in Irvine, which could ultimately be decided by Irvine voters if a citywide ballot initiative is successful.
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.
Irvine Mayor Christina Shea told residents at a private townhall meeting July 18 that the golf course site was a diversion so the state doesn’t force the veterans cemetery at the original site. But she said, on Wednesday, she was talking about diverting the residents’ anger over the original site.
The Irvine City Council picked a planned golf course within the Great Park as the future home of the state-run veterans cemetery, but a state bill looking to name another site conflicts with Irvine’s decision.
Irvine City Council members could end a two-year battle over where to locate Orange County’s first veterans cemetery if they decide on a site Tuesday.
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.