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Irvine Newsletter
January 2020
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Help Develop a Strategic Energy Plan for Irvine
by Attending a Community Workshop on
January 13, 2020!
The objectives of the Plan are to analyze the City's baseline energy use to project future energy needs, evaluate priorities to meet those needs, and identify funding opportunities to implement the Plan.
The City of Irvine is developing a
Strategic Energy Plan to create a sustainable, economically feasible, and actionable road map for City operations and to identify effective measures the Irvine community can implement to become energy efficient. The objectives of the Plan are to analyze the City's baseline energy use to project future energy needs, evaluate priorities to meet those needs, and identify funding opportunities to implement the Plan.
The project began in November 2018 and is anticipated to be completed in April 2020. When the Plan is completed, it will be presented to the City Council for consideration and adoption.
Community engagement will help form the vision for the Plan. As part of the Plan's development, the City seeks community stakeholder feedback via public workshops, which will be scheduled in the coming months.
The next community workshop on the Strategic Energy Plan will be held on Monday, January 13, 2020 at 5:00 p.m. - 6:30 p.m. at City of Irvine City Hall, 1 Civic Center Plaza, Irvine, California 92606.
At this workshop, City of Irvine staff will present strategies to reduce energy consumption in our energy supply, buildings, and transportation sectors, and guide participants through facilitated discussions on each area. All residents are invited to ensure that your ideas and feedback are captured as we create the Strategic Energy Plan.
You can also help by taking our City of Irvine Strategic Energy Plan Stakeholder Input Survey
HERE
.
For more information about the project, contact Sona Coffee in Public Works at 949-724-7562.
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These new houses would exacerbate Irvine's school over-crowding and traffic congestion problems while doing little or nothing to ease our affordable housing crisis.
Recently, I voted "No" on continuing the second reading of a re-zoning proposal that would allow the addition of 1,000 single family million dollar houses to be built by the Irvine Company in the area of Portola Springs/Orchard Hills in Irvine.
This vote could have been the end of the issue, since on the first reading both Mayor Christina Shea and Councilmember Mike Carroll voted against the re-zoning.
However, Councilmember Mike Carroll now voted with the supporters of adding 1,000 new homes (Councilmembers Anthony Kuo and Farrah N. Khan) to continue the item to January 2020.
Carroll, Kuo and Khan won the vote to continue, 3-2. This means that these additional 1,000 million dollar single family houses will again come before the Council.
But on further reflection, it became apparent to me that this proposed housing development would be built without the necessary infrastructure, including new schools and a local retail center, which are needed and have long been promised to residents.
I am a strong advocate for action on the local and state level addressing the housing crisis, but not at the cost of overcrowded schools and the abandonment of Irvine's renowned village model and our Master Plan balancing housing with schools, retail centers, and open space.
In particular, I am a strong supporter of Irvine's village concept, which is intended to reduce sprawl and traffic congestion, and create walkable neighborhoods and a sense of community, by locating housing, at several different levels of purchase price or rental cost, around both local schools and a local retail center.
This village model - an essential part of Irvine's Master Plan long promoted by the Irvine Company - has been enormously successful. As the Irvine Chamber of Commerce has boasted, Irvine is a "City of Villages."
You can see a video promoting the Irvine Master Plan, with specific reference to the Irvine village model as an integral part of the Master Plan, here:
For this reason, I was very concerned - shocked, actually - when a representative of the Irvine Company responded to my questioning by stating that the Irvine Company had no plans to build a retail center near these new homes and were no longer committed to the village model.
In other words, I came to see that voting in favor of this zoning change is tantamount to voting for Irvine to no longer be a "City of Villages."
On the issue of whether these proposed 1,000 million dollar homes would help alleviate the affordable housing crisis, here are the facts:
According to the article, Irvine is supposed to permit 12,149 homes between 2013 and 2021. Housing units are mandated in each of four categories: (1) very low income, (2) low income, (3) moderate income, and (4) above moderate income.
The number show that Irvine has done exceptionally well in providing housing in the moderate and (especially) above moderate income categories, but is not doing nearly as well in the low income and very low income categories, where it is seriously off track in meetings its RHNA goals.
Very Low Income Units: Irvine has permitted 907 very low income units, needs 1,761 to be on track, 2,817 for final goal. In sum, very low income units are not on track, and are far from the final goal.
Low Income Units: Irvine has permitted 3 units, needs 271 to be on track, 2,034 for final goal. In sum, low income units are not on track, and are far from final goal.
Moderate Income Units: Irvine has permitted 12,973 units, needs 1,399 to be on track, 2,239 for final goal. In sum, moderate income units are more than on track, and are already in excess of the final goal.
Above Moderate Income Units: Irvine has permitted 12,137 units, needs 3,162 to be on track, 5,059 for final goal. In sum, above moderate income units are far more than on track, and are already far in excess of the final goal.
These numbers demonstrate what everyone knows: Irvine's housing is overwhelmingly skewed toward the "Above Moderate Income" market.
The 1,000 housing units that would be added to Portola Springs/Orchid Hills under the re-zoning proposed by the Irvine Company are single family homes costing above $1,000,000. These 1,000 "Above Moderate Income" units would not help Irvine meet its Regional Housing Needs Assessment (RHNA) goals.
On the contrary, they would exacerbate Irvine's school over-crowding and traffic congestion problems while doing little or nothing to ease our affordable housing crisis.
That's why I voted No.
It is my belief that only saying No to these projects that provide housing only for the well-to-do, will we encourage developers to build more environmentally responsible and affordable housing projects.
I hope Irvine residents will make their views on this proposal for an additional 1,000 million dollar single family houses clear to all members of the Council between now and then.
Contact information for all members of the Irvine City Council can be found
HERE
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Suspect was located and arrested without incident.
On Christmas Eve, December 24, 2019, the Irvine Police Department employed the drone to locate and arrest a commercial burglary suspect at a construction site in the 2900 block of Warner Avenue around 10:20 PM.
Following reports of a burglary in progress, police units arriving on the scene located a self-storage facility under construction and learned that a suspect was inside.
Officers then established a perimeter around the site and made announcements ordering the suspect to surrender.
The suspect hunkered down and was eventually located after police employed a number of resources including a small unmanned aircraft system, commonly referred to as a drone, along with a police helicopter and K-9 to search for the suspect.
A male suspect was located and arrested without incident.
Firefighter paramedics evaluated the man on scene before officers transported him from the location.
Great work, IPD!
You can watch a video of the incident from ONSCENE TV here:
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| Police Drone Used To Catch Burglary Suspect In Irvine |
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Proceeds from 2020 Irvine Animal Care Center Calendar sales go toward providing shelter and care for the animals at the center.
The 2020 Irvine Animal Care Center Calendar is on sale now for $15.
Proceeds from 2020 Irvine Animal Care Center Calendar sales go toward providing shelter and care for the animals at the center.
You can purchase your calendar at the center during regular business hours, weekdays from noon to 6 p.m., and weekends from 10 a.m. to 5 p.m. The Center is closed on Tuesdays and holidays.
Each year, the
Irvine Animal Care Center provides shelter, care, and enrichment for approximately 3,000 animals. Support from the community helps the center provide high-quality daily care and enhanced medical treatment to animals in need.
Visit the Center's
Programs and Services webpage to learn more about how your contributions and support allow the Animal Care Center to help the animals in our care find the new adoptive homes they deserve.
The mission of the Irvine Animal Care Center is to provide a safe, clean, caring and enriching environment that meets the high standards of our community and provides the community a resource of trained and knowledgeable staff and volunteers; place all adoptable animals into permanent, loving, responsible pet homes and reunites owner-identified animals with their owners; and promote human responsibility for companion animals.
We are fortunate to have the Irvine Animal Center in our community!
For questions about the Irvine Animal Care Center Calendar, call 949-724-7740.
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Your Vote is Your Voice!
Early voting begins on February 3, 2020!
This is there is a new date for the primary election in California, as well as several other changes in how we vote.
The 2020 California Primary Election is now March 3, 2020 -- and ballots for early voting should be available on February 3, 2020.
California has a "top two" primary election -- only the two candidates receiving the most votes in the March primary will be on the ballot in the November 2020 general election. This means that you need to vote for your favorite candidates in primary if you want to see them elected in November!Also, this year brings some major changes in how we vote.
You can vote anywhere in Orange County! You're probably saying goodbye to your neighborhood polling place. In place of the local church, school cafeteria, or neighbor's garage that you're used to voting in, there will be larger "vote centers" open for up to ten days before the election. The vote center model lets you vote anywhere in the county, get help in multiple languages, replace a lost or damaged ballot, and register to vote or change your voter registration same-day. Learn more HERE.
The second difference: You are now an eligible vote-by-mail voter!
E
very single registered voter in Orange County will be mailed an absentee ballot. Ballots for early voting should be available on February 3, 2020. Voters can choose to drop it off in a mailbox or a secure ballot drop box, or get a fresh ballot in-person at one of the vote centers once they're open.
Learn more about new voting procedures
HERE
.
For more information, contact the OC Registrar of Voters at 714-567-7600.
As you may know, I am running for California Assembly to represent the 68th Assembly District, which includes parts of Irvine, plus Lake Forest, Orange, Villa Park, Tustin, and parts of Anaheim and the Canyons.
Learn more about my campaign for California Assembly at
You can watch my campaign video here:
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Chúc Mừng Năm Mới! Happy Lunar New Year!
Councilmember Melissa Fox visits Vietnam America TV to record a New Year Greeting!
Chúc Mừng Năm Mới!
This week I had the pleasure of visiting Vietnam America TV (
VNATV 57.3)
to record a New Year greeting!
I want to wish everyone a Happy Lunar New Year!
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Smoke Alarms Save Lives!
Most fire death occur in homes with no working smoke alarm!
Almost two-thirds of all home fire deaths occur in homes with no working smoke alarm.
Protect your family by installing smoke alarms, inspecting them regularly, and practicing home fire drills!
Install
Install smoke alarms in every bedroom, in hallways outside bedrooms
or sleeping areas, and on every level of the home.
Install smoke alarms on the ceiling or high on a wall. Make sure
they're at least 10 feet from the stove and three feet from doors
leading to the kitchen to reduce false alarms.
Keep smoke alarms away from bathrooms with tubs or showers,
heating or cooling ducts or vents, and ceiling or whole-house fans.
Check the back for the manufacture date. Replace all alarms when
they're 10 years old.
Use interconnected smoke alarms. When one sounds, they all sound.
It's safest to use both ionization and photoelectric smoke alarms.
Ionization alarms are quicker to warn about flaming fires.
Photoelectric alarms are quicker to warn about smoldering fires.
Special alarms with strobe lights and bed shakers are available for
people who are deaf or hard of hearing.
Inspect
Test all smoke alarms once a month.
Follow the manufacture's instructions for cleaning to keep smoke
alarms working well.
Protect
Draw a home escape plan that shows two ways out of every room and
an outside meeting place.
Teach children what the smoke alarm sounds like and what to do if
they hear it.
Practice home fire drills at least twice a year.
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Melissa Fox
Irvine City Council
Staff and Commissioners
Allison Binder, Lead Council Executive Assistant
Julia Jech, Council Executive Assistant
Lauren Johnson Norris,
Community Services Commissioner
Dustin Nirschl,
Planning Commissioner
Roger Sievers,
Finance Commissioner
Kenneth Montgomery, Transportation Commissioner
Zhihai Li,
Children, Youth and Families Committee
Dawn Antis,
Childcare Committee
Juneu Kim,
Senior Council
Richard Cody Prince,
Green Ribbon Environmental Committee
Fred Judd,
Investment Advisory Committee (Chair)
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