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Irvine council rejects mayor’s motion to press for municipal veterans cemetery at Great Park; debate over Gypsum Canyon continues
Summary
A contentious, hours‑long public debate ended with the City Council declining to adopt a resolution pushed by the mayor to support building an Irvine‑run veterans cemetery on the Great Park artist site; supervisors and veterans’ groups pressed that the county‑backed Gypsum Canyon site remains the endorsed, shovel‑ready location.
Irvine — After more than seven hours of public testimony, the Irvine City Council on May 27 declined to adopt a resolution proposed by Mayor Larry Agran that would have directed the city to pursue a municipal veterans cemetery at the Great Park artist site.
Mayor Agran opened the item by reciting the history of efforts to place a Southern California veterans cemetery in Orange County and said the artist site within the Great Park was the place most veterans had sought in earlier public campaigns. The mayor proposed a resolution that would have selected the artist site for an Irvine municipal cemetery, asked the city manager to report back within 90 days with a plan to develop an initial 20‑acre phase and to solicit CalVet’s (California Department of Veterans Affairs) interest in a long‑term transfer of the facility.
Supervisor Katrina Foley and Supervisor Don Wagner spoke against the mayor’s resolution and urged council members to support the Gypsum Canyon site in Anaheim Hills. Wagner and Foley said Gypsum Canyon has broad…
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