Irvine Council delays vote on Great Park project funding
A vote on about $9.7 million in construction and equipment – including more than $650,000 for security cameras – slated for the 175-acre sports fields area at the Great Park was postponed Tuesday night.
Councilwoman Beth Krom and Mayor Steven Choi opposed the planned enhancements to the land, a portion of the 688-acre swath under development, because of the source of roughly half of the funds. In the absence of Mayor Pro Tem Jeff Lalloway, who voted previously as a member of the Great Park Corp. board of directors in favor of the work, with the exception of the security cameras, the 2-2 vote spelled the proposal’s temporary defeat.
Irvine’s proposal for the area, which FivePoint Communities is responsible for developing, is outside of the developer’s required scope of work. That means the city has to pony up for anything it wants outside those obligations.
Among the projects planned: converting some soccer fields from natural to synthetic turf, adding eight batting cages and installing 35 security cameras.
About $5 million would come from the developer through a fund set up specifically for work on the Great Park.
The rest of the funding would come from developer fees known as Quimby funds, money that’s paid to the city in lieu of new parks. The fees are named after the state law that allows cities and counties to require that payment of developers. Krom and Choi argued against spending that much Quimby money on the Great Park, when it could be put to other uses.
City Manager Sean Joyce said the item would be brought back soon for another vote.