Just say, “Yes, Yes, Yes” on June 5
By Irvine City News staff
The June 5 statewide election will be here before we know it. In addition to statewide primary campaigns, there will be three measures on the ballot for Irvine voters to decide. Irvine City News urges a yes vote on all three. Here’s why.
YES on Measure B to give veterans the cemetery they want and deserve.
Official measure language: “Shall Ordinance No. 17-08, approving a zone text amendment so as to facilitate the development of the Southern California Veterans Cemetery by reflecting an exchange of City-owned property for the State-approved site at the intersection of Bake Parkway and Interstate 5, commonly known as the Strawberry Fields, be adopted?”
Argument: A “yes” vote gives Orange County veterans the dignified cemetery they have sought and deserved for years. It gives them the cemetery sooner, cheaper, and on the historic Marine Corps Air Station El Toro base, which means so much to them.
That is why veterans’ organizations like the American Legion, Veterans of Foreign Wars, and Orange County Memorial Veterans Cemetery Committee ask for your yes vote.
A “yes” vote allows the Southern California Veterans Cemetery to be built on a clean, state-approved site, that will be a highly visible, honored, and will serve as an honorable resting place. That is why state and city leaders, taxpayer organizations, and both the Orange County Republican and Democratic Parties ask for your “yes” vote.
A “yes” vote costs Irvine taxpayers nothing extra, but means a $10 million payment from FivePoint to promptly begin cemetery construction. That $10 million payment does not permit the developer to put a single new car on Irvine’s roads.
A “no” vote means the veterans cemetery will likely never be built because there is currently no approved alternate site. If the process were to start over—and it would take years just to get the project back on the table—the city would have to spend as much as $40 million taxpayer dollars. A “no” vote stubbornly sticks to outdated and failed “planning” like that which has plagued the Great Park in past years. Irvine citizens—and Orange County veterans—deserve better.
YES on Measure C to require a two-thirds vote of the city council for any new or expanded taxes to be put on the ballot, as required by the majority of cities in California.
Ballot language: “Shall the measure amending the Irvine City Charter to require at least a two-thirds vote of the total City Council membership in order to place City Council-sponsored general or special tax proposals on a ballot for voter consideration, be adopted?”
Argument: Measure C closes a loophole for charter cities such as Irvine that allows a simple majority of the city council to propose new taxes. With the passage of the measure, the council will need four out of five votes, or a two-thirds majority, to put new taxes on the ballot.
YES on Measure D to ensure that new development in Irvine provide a financial benefit to the taxpayers of at least 15 percent over the city’s costs.
Official Ballot Language: “Shall Section 1099 be added to the Irvine City Charter which benefits Irvine’s general fund and local taxpayers by requiring that no City procedures or requirements delay important revenue streams from development projects which provide a fiscal benefit to Irvine citizens, be adopted?”
Argument: A “yes” vote on Measure D provides a safeguard against runaway development by requiring full disclosure of the public cost of private development. As a result, developers will be accountable for the fiscal impacts of their projects, just as the City Council will be accountable to the residents and voters of Irvine.
A “yes” vote will result in developers having to prove a fiscal benefit to the city and citizens of Irvine of at least 15 percent about the city’s costs related to the proposed project. Developers will have to publicly disclose the financial benefit of their projects prior to city council approval.
Developers paying their fair share is the hallmark of the measure, which ensures that developers disclose the cost burdens of the projects and guarantee that they are investing in the community and not being a burden on taxpayers or the public treasury.
On June 5, vote “yes” for the veterans. Vote “yes” to close the higher tax loophole. And vote “yes” to insure fiscally responsible growth and development.
YES on Measure B to give veterans the cemetery they want and deserve.
YES on Measure C to require a two-thirds vote of the city council for any new or expanded taxes to be put on the ballot, as required by the majority of cities in California.
YES on Measure D to ensure that new development in Irvine provides a financial benefit to the taxpayers of at least 15 percent over the city’s costs.
YES on Measure B to give veterans the cemetery they want and deserve.
Official measure language: “Shall Ordinance No. 17-08, approving a zone text amendment so as to facilitate the development of the Southern California Veterans Cemetery by reflecting an exchange of City-owned property for the State-approved site at the intersection of Bake Parkway and Interstate 5, commonly known as the Strawberry Fields, be adopted?”
Argument: A “yes” vote gives Orange County veterans the dignified cemetery they have sought and deserved for years. It gives them the cemetery sooner, cheaper, and on the historic Marine Corps Air Station El Toro base, which means so much to them.
That is why veterans’ organizations like the American Legion, Veterans of Foreign Wars, and Orange County Memorial Veterans Cemetery Committee ask for your yes vote.
A “yes” vote allows the Southern California Veterans Cemetery to be built on a clean, state-approved site, that will be a highly visible, honored, and will serve as an honorable resting place. That is why state and city leaders, taxpayer organizations, and both the Orange County Republican and Democratic Parties ask for your “yes” vote.
A “yes” vote costs Irvine taxpayers nothing extra, but means a $10 million payment from FivePoint to promptly begin cemetery construction. That $10 million payment does not permit the developer to put a single new car on Irvine’s roads.
A “no” vote means the veterans cemetery will likely never be built because there is currently no approved alternate site. If the process were to start over—and it would take years just to get the project back on the table—the city would have to spend as much as $40 million taxpayer dollars. A “no” vote stubbornly sticks to outdated and failed “planning” like that which has plagued the Great Park in past years. Irvine citizens—and Orange County veterans—deserve better.
YES on Measure C to require a two-thirds vote of the city council for any new or expanded taxes to be put on the ballot, as required by the majority of cities in California.
Ballot language: “Shall the measure amending the Irvine City Charter to require at least a two-thirds vote of the total City Council membership in order to place City Council-sponsored general or special tax proposals on a ballot for voter consideration, be adopted?”
Argument: Measure C closes a loophole for charter cities such as Irvine that allows a simple majority of the city council to propose new taxes. With the passage of the measure, the council will need four out of five votes, or a two-thirds majority, to put new taxes on the ballot.
YES on Measure D to ensure that new development in Irvine provide a financial benefit to the taxpayers of at least 15 percent over the city’s costs.
Official Ballot Language: “Shall Section 1099 be added to the Irvine City Charter which benefits Irvine’s general fund and local taxpayers by requiring that no City procedures or requirements delay important revenue streams from development projects which provide a fiscal benefit to Irvine citizens, be adopted?”
Argument: A “yes” vote on Measure D provides a safeguard against runaway development by requiring full disclosure of the public cost of private development. As a result, developers will be accountable for the fiscal impacts of their projects, just as the City Council will be accountable to the residents and voters of Irvine.
A “yes” vote will result in developers having to prove a fiscal benefit to the city and citizens of Irvine of at least 15 percent about the city’s costs related to the proposed project. Developers will have to publicly disclose the financial benefit of their projects prior to city council approval.
Developers paying their fair share is the hallmark of the measure, which ensures that developers disclose the cost burdens of the projects and guarantee that they are investing in the community and not being a burden on taxpayers or the public treasury.
On June 5, vote “yes” for the veterans. Vote “yes” to close the higher tax loophole. And vote “yes” to insure fiscally responsible growth and development.
YES on Measure B to give veterans the cemetery they want and deserve.
YES on Measure C to require a two-thirds vote of the city council for any new or expanded taxes to be put on the ballot, as required by the majority of cities in California.
YES on Measure D to ensure that new development in Irvine provides a financial benefit to the taxpayers of at least 15 percent over the city’s costs.