The Irvine Planning Commission reviewed the state of facts surrounding the multiple cemetery options in the Great Park Thursday night.

After multiple rounds of questions from the Planning Commissioners, City Community Development Staff acknowledged that to date no environmental review of the ARDA site has been conducted. Additionally, the golf course and Strawberry Field sites have assumed development intensity on them which has been studied while the ARDA site has no intensity assumed on it.

Tonight’s hearing marks the first time in the multiple-year saga within the City over the potential location for a Veterans Cemetery that City Staff has laid out the fact that contrary to claims made by some residents, the ARDA site is not now, nor has it ever been “shovel ready.”

The State-prepared Owens report, cited by many as an environmental review, was explained by City Staff to be a feasibility study for funding, not an environmental review.

Tonight’s hearing established an official public statement of the fact that the City of Irvine has not conducted an environmental review of a cemetery at any site in the City of Irvine other than the Strawberry Field site.

Commissioner John Duong, appointed by Jeff Lalloway, acknowledged that tonight’s hearing is the first time that the Planning Commission, the City’s land use review entity, has ever been asked to look at the ARDA site. This statement contradicts representations made by Lalloway that the ARDA site had previously gone through a City of Irvine planning review.

The Planning Commission motion to study the various options was approved 4-1 with Commissioner Bartlett opposing the proposed study process.