City Council - Regular Meeting

Please come to order. This is the 05/12/2026 adjourned regular meeting and joint special meeting with the Irvine facilities financing authority. The time is 05:08PM. And at this time, I'm going to ask the clerk to please call the roll.

Councilmember Carroll. Here. Councilmember Go. Here. Councilmember Liu. Here. Councilmember Martinez Franco. Here. Councilmember Trusieder. Here. Vice Mayor Mai. Here. And Mayor Agram. Here.

At this time, I'm going to turn to our city clerk, Mr. Carl Peterson, and ask you, Mr. Peterson, to please explain to the public, both those gathered here and those who may be watching the proceedings remotely, how they can participate in today's meeting.

Thank you, mayor. Members of our audience who wish to speak may submit their name into one of the speaker kiosks next to the city clerk or in the main lobby. We also offer the ability to provide live comments via Zoom and submit written comments through our e comment system. For those who wish to participate virtually, visit zoom.us using any web browser or the Zoom app on smartphones or tablets and enter meeting ID 844. The passcode is 272906.

You may also dial in by calling (669) 254-5252 or (669) 216-1590 and entering the same meeting ID and passcode. Those who wish to provide comments via Zoom are asked to enter the speaker queue by raising their hand electronically. The city clerk will call your name and allow you to unmute your microphone at the appropriate time. Those dialing in by telephone will be identified by the last three digits of their telephone number. We ask that you please state your name for the record.

The time limits per speaker are noted in the posted agenda and are established based on the number of requests submitted. All requests submitted after the first speaker is called shall receive ninety seconds. Those who wish to provide written comments may do so by clicking e comment on our new city council meeting agenda webpage at cityofrevine.gov/agendas. All comments will be provided to the city council as part of the meeting record and will be uploaded to the city's website. For technical assistance with Zoom before or during the meeting, please call (949) 724-6078.

For any other questions or assistance, please contact the city clerk's office at (949) 724-6205 or via email at clerkcityofirvine dot org. Thank you, mayor.

Thank you, mister Peterson. This time, in a moment, I'm going to ask the audience to rise and join us in the Pledge of Allegiance, which will be followed by a moment of silence, which I'll introduce after the pledge. And then after that moment of silence, we'll have an appropriate invocation tonight. So with that, I'll turn now to council member Melinda Liu, who will lead us in the pledge this afternoon and evening. Please rise if you're able.

I pledge allegiance to the flag

of The United States Of America and to the republic for which it stands, One nation under God, indivisible, with

liberty and justice for all. Please remain standing if you would. We're going to, have a moment of silence, tonight, in remembrance of, Irvine resident George Lou, who is a father of congressman Ted Liu, who represents a congressional district just a little bit north of Irvine. Mister Liu immigrated to The United States in 1970. He earned a law degree from Sichao University in Taiwan and a master of laws degree at Cleveland State University College of Law in 1971.

Mister Liu, set aside his own plans to become a lawyer and a writer to provide for his family and give his sons opportunities to succeed. He and his wife, Carrie, opened a gift store, and through hard work, they expanded that enterprise to seven stores across multiple states. Mister Lou, eventually realized his dream of being an author, writing three books of poetry between 2004 and 2026. He and his wife were longtime residents here in

Irvine. Mister Lu was known for his wonderful sense of humor and vibrant spirit. He touched the lives of many here in Irvine and elsewhere before his recent passing. Our condolences, of course, go out to his friends and family, his, neighbors, as well as

Congressman Liu and those in his office, whom mister Liu was, so supportive of as well. So now if you would just, please join me in a brief, moment of silence for George Liu. Thank you. Please be seated. Tonight's invocation will once again come to us in the form of a musical presentation.

At this time, it's my pleasure to introduce and call forward Shaya Kallili, a junior from University High School who participates in the marching symphonic and jazz bands. Welcome. Though he well, let me just say this, that Shaiyaz, I'm informed, has been playing the alto saxophone for about four years now. Though he plays both jazz and classical music, his deep admiration for jazz is how he likes to express himself musically. And playing the saxophone has significantly helped inspire that passion.

As part of tonight's invocation, Shaya will be performing two pieces for us. The first is an excerpt from Saxophone Concerto in E flat Major by Alexander Glasanov, followed by the jazz standard Misty by Errol Garner. So thank you, Shaya, for joining us this evening. We want to give you a round of applause and a warm welcome. Alright?

Hold on here. There we are. We're gonna take a photograph at this time. You're gonna be the center of it. We're going to stand behind you here, and we're going to give you a big round of applause thanking you once again for being here.

Thanks so much. Please, everyone else stand. Thank you, Shaya, and we wish you all the best. Thank you so much. At this time, we move on to presentations this evening.

Item 1.1 is a presentation. I'm going to ask the city clerk to identify this presentation by title and subject, if you would. Mr. Peterson.

Thank you, mayor. Our presentation today is to ratify and proclaim 04/24/2026 as Armenian Genocide Remembrance Day.

Thank you. Our presentation this evening is a proclamation recognizing 04/24/2026 as Armenian Genocide Remembrance Day. This has been agendized at the request of council member Melinda Lou. Before we proceed with the presentation, would like to invite those who are participating via Zoom to raise their hand electronically if they would like to be a speaker and comment on this item at this time. Mr.

Peterson, are there any members of the public who wish to speak on presentation item 1.1?

Thank you, Mayor. We do have one request via Zoom.

All right. Why don't we close the queue and recognize that speaker who will be given three minutes. Is that correct?

Correct.

Very well. Go right ahead.

Thank you, mayor. Our speaker is Eric Nashanian. Mr. Nashanian, you may unmute your mic.

Thank you, Mayor Agram, council members. First, I want to let everybody know that the Great Park is upside down and doesn't have the money to implement the framework as of right now, so that any pledging of land for the Armenian Genocide memorial is illusory. This is slide number one. On 04/04/2017, Mayor Wagner declined to recognize Turkish Heritage and Children's Day on April 23 until staff met with the stakeholders and found another date that was suitable and that would not offend the Armenian community. Next slide.

On December 24, the OCTAA, an organization that promotes genocide denial here in Irvine and hangs Ataturk, an architect of the Armenian genocide at schools, parks, sanctioned events here in Irvine, congratulated Mayor Egan on his election as mayor. And you can find that by searching OCTAA and Mayor Lader Egren, congratulations. Next slide. In December 2025, this is former Mayor Stephen Choi, recognizing known Armenian Genocide denier Ergun Kirlik Kavali. Mr.

Kurlik Kavali was brought up in these chambers, and his involvement with Farah Khan caused much controversy in 2022. Next slide. Here, you can see that in early 'twenty two, Mayor Khan had to remove Kirlikovale. This is actually her promoting her advisory committee. And not only is Kirlikovale here, but there's also Erkan Demiracci, who was the president of the OCTAA beneath the circle where I circled it.

No one disputes that the OCTAA promotes genocide denial or hangs at the events that I indicated. Next slide. On 04/23/2026, Mayor Egren gave the OCTAA a certificate recognizing April 23 as Turkish Heritage and Children's Day. There was never a discussion amongst the stakeholders with staff about another date. Mayor Shay and Mayor Khan proceeded to fall back on the April 23 date until the Armenian community once again spoke up for themselves.

Next slide. It's enough with the recognition and the proclamations and the promises. If you're a a fan of the you know, this needs to stop. Local Armenian American community does not need proclamations or pledges of land that are rec tributes recognizing the genocide of their ancestors from Irvine representatives. This does not solve the underlying problem. There are genocide deniers in Irvine, and the city appears to continue to promote that. The city and its representatives need to censure its own, like mayors Egren, Thanh, and Choi to promote or bolster Turkish national genocide deniers and their related organizations like the OCTAA.

Thank you. Your time is up. And mayor, I apologize. There is one person who requested to speak in person, if I may call them forward.

Yes. Why don't you call that person? And that will be our final speaker. Is that correct? Correct. All right.

Thank you, Mayor. Jason Garfield.

Welcome. Welcome, sir.

Thank you. Apologies for the mix up. I just wanted to lend my voice such for whatever worth that may be to this proclamation. I think it's, you know, we Jews have talked about the Holocaust quite a lot. The Armenian Genocide does deserve as much recognition in part because it was the historical prototype for the Holocaust.

I think it is a disgrace that a great many nations out of cowardly appeasement to Turkey have failed to recognize it. And I also think that it's a disgrace that Farrakhan, who sat up right in the middle for four years, made some pretty offensive jokes about the Armenian genocide and received no official censure and no great condemnation for doing so. So, that's all I have to say about that. Thank you.

And that is all, Mayor.

Thank you for those comments. With that, I'll move to ratify and approve the proclamation recognizing 04/24/2026 as Armenian Genocide Remembrance Day. Is there second? Second. That's seconded by council member Lu. Would the clerk please call the roll?

Council member Carol? Yes. Council member Go? Yes. Council member Lu?

Yes.

Council Member Martinez Franco?

Yes.

Council Member Trusieder?

Yes.

Vice Mayor Mai? Yes. And Mayor Egren? Yes. Carries seven zero.

Thank you. And at this time, I'll turn to Council Member Lu to invite forward our special guests this evening and to present the proclamation. Councilmember Lu.

Thank you, mayor. Good evening. Tonight, I'm honored to present this proclamation recognizing Armenian Genocide Remembrance Day. This proclamation commemorates the lives lost during the Armenian Genocide from 1915 to 1923 and reaffirms our commitment to remembering this tragedy and standing against hatred and intolerance in all forms. I would also like to recognize and welcome members of the Orange County Armenian Genocide Memorial Committee and community leaders joining us this evening.

Doctor. I mean, Kev Abijan, Hacob Bedolian, and Gavark Martirosian. I'm sorry if I'm not reading it correctly. Please welcome.

Okay.

Thank you for your continued leadership, advocacy, and dedication to preserving the memory and history of the Armenian community. This evening they also brought a presentation of the proposed memorial sculpture as well as an artistic rendering of the future sculpture planned for the great part of the park. We appreciate the opportunity for our community to learn more about this meaningful project and its vision for remembrance education and healing.

Thank you councilmember Lou, mayor and vice mayor my council members and members of the community. On behalf of the orange county armenian genocide memorial committee, I'm joined by Hagobadulian and Gevork Matryoshian. I wanna thank you for the proclamation of 04/24/2026 as Armenian Genocide Remembrance Day. This year marks the one hundred eleventh annual commemoration of the Armenian Genocide. On April 1915 is the day we observe that the violence reaches back to the Hamidian massacres of the eighteen nineties and continues to this day.

More than one and a half million Armenians perished. We commemorate those lives lost and honor the survivors who rebuilt many of them here in Irvine. This evening, I'm honored to present the clay maquette sculptor Brittany Ryan of Laguna Beach, depicting a mother and child encircled by cranes in flight. Members, they're symbols of survival, memory, and enduring an enduring connection to the Armenian homeland. Alongside it is a rendering of the completed bronze sculpture as it will stand in the heart of the park with installation planned for spring twenty twenty eight together with the poster describing the project.

The maquette was made possible by community partnership fund grants generously supported by councilmember Lou, councilmember Goh, vice mayor Mayor Akron. Thank you for that essential early support. I also want to thank a new community partnership fund grant by council member Betty Martinez Franco. I'd also like to thank council members Betty Martinez Franco and Lou for joining our community's annual commemoration in Santa Ana this past April. Your presence was deeply meaningful.

I also want to thank the perennial support of council member Kathleen Traceter. I would be remiss not to recognize council member Mike Carroll who arranged the memorial site dedication at the Great Park in 2024. A milestone that set this work in motion. The Orange County Armenian Genocide Memorial Committee will stand as the first sorry. The Orange County Armenian Genocide Memorial will stand as the first public memorial to the Armenian Genocide in Orange County As a place of remembrance and reflection for the entire community. Thank you.

And at this point, I'd like to invite my council colleagues to join our guests for photos.

Thank you all and thank you councilmember Liu. I do want to have our staff note that at the next Great Park Board meeting, it would be good if we could have a brief report on the progress toward the installation of the memorial there. Thank you. With that, we move on to public comments for nonagendized items. This is an opportunity at the beginning of our meeting here for members of the public to be heard regarding matters not on the posted agenda.

Up to a half hour of public comment for non agendized public comments, again, as to matters not on the published agenda, but nevertheless within our subject matter jurisdiction, are welcome typically depending on the number of people who wish to be heard. We give up to three minutes. So Mr. Peterson, how many requests are there to be heard under public comments for non agendized items?

Thank you, Mayor. We have 13 requests to speak, 10 in person and three on Zoom.

All right. Why don't we, in light of that, to get within the half hour, let's limit each speaker to two minutes. And let's keep the queue open for just another minute or two. All right?

Thank you, Mayor. If I could call forward Susan Sayer, Alan Meyerson, Jason Garfield, Kevin Trussell, Heidi, Mona, Pam Wyckoff, and Dee Fox. And we'll start with Ms. Sayer.

Welcome, Ms. Sayer.

Thank you. Good afternoon. My name is Susan Sayer, and I'm an Irvine resident. Saying that we currently lack a cohesive city council is a gross understatement. I could not have been more disgusted by the total lack of decorum and unprofessional behavior you all exhibited on the dais during the last April 28 city council meeting.

You were disrespectful of one another and belittle fellow council members like children on the school playground. Your conduct and lack of cohesion will be for all to remember when it comes to filling out our ballots this coming November. You each have the freedom to exercise your right to place discussion items on the agenda, but this power should not be abused. You also have the freedom to remain silent and not to participate in agenda item discussion silence can often speak louder than words. It is the voters that have the power to alter provisions of voter approved initiatives not you.

Your lack of respect for your voters will most certainly be remembered come November. You should show your public commenters that you appreciate their efforts to communicate their concerns. Put away your cell phones, close your laptops, and show that you are listening to your constituents. You can learn a lot from the speakers some have a lot of knowledge and expertise on city matters many of us put a lot of time and effort into researching agenda items including communicating with city staff members and project applicants. You may not be able to respond to the speakers directly but you can show that you are listening to them and appreciate their input by bringing up some of the issues they present during your agenda item discussions.

Voters will also remember your support and recognition when it comes to filling out their ballots. Thank you.

Thank you for your comments.

Alan Meyerson.

Welcome.

Good evening councilmembers. Alan Meyerson. I've been thinking about what I wanted to say here. I want to echo everything that Susan Sarra just said. I also want to say something regarding a video that councilmember Tresidder put out on YouTube and bragged about at the council meeting.

It's amazing that you have the time to do something like this. I imagine your staff was the one they were the ones that put it out, but it was edited and taken out of context and made to look made to make the mayor look bad. I also want to let anyone up there that thinks that the mayor is asking me to come here and speak. No one has ever asked me to come here and speak. I would be coming here to speak no matter who is sitting in that mayor seat and no matter who is sitting on the dais.

I like to speak truth to power and that' why I do this. I want to call into question councilmember traceter s judgment of character since she aligned herself with someone on a past counsel that was charged with seven felony counts for election fraud. Councilmember trecedar has never said anything about this. No one has said anything about this that supported tammy kim. Your judgment of character is faulty apparently.

You never responded to anything that Tammy Kim did, yet you continue to support her. So, anything you have to say about anyone's character called into question by me, and I hope by a lot of other people. With that being said, I just would wish and hope that the people on that dais would start acting in a professional way. Stop trying to find fault with others and do something positive for a change. Thank you.

Thank you for your comments. Jason Gersfield, welcome, sir.

Thank you. So, with regards to Tammy Kim, if we're going to relitigate this, she was railroaded because she took a difficult stand on a difficult issue. Be that as it may, I'd like to speak about development today, not just at Oak Creek, but everywhere. So, you see people all over on Nextdoor talking about how great Irvine was when there were orange groves. Well, those orange groves are gone, and the small Irvine is not coming back. All cities grow. New York was once a small town on the tip of Manhattan. Irvine has gotten three times bigger in my lifetime. It's larger than Cincinnati and Pittsburgh. It's almost as big as Orlando and New Orleans.

If you want the Orange groves back, then you're going to you're in cuts incumbent upon you to explain who you're going to expel from Irvine. Similarly, we can't limit growth to zero any more than we can or should limit immigration to The United States to zero. If anything, I think we should embrace Irvine's status as a big city and allow for more development. And those who don't like it can move to a small town, just like I've been told to move out of Irvine if I can afford it. Irvine should not become a retirement community of a city.

We have Laguna Woods for that. Now with regards to the issue of traffic, I'm as annoyed as any of you. I'm in a bad mood in five minutes driving on this city's roads. And that's why I've spoken about making Irvine a more walkable city. I have the good fortune to live in Woodbridge where you have some hope of walking to the store. But I grew up in an area of this city where the nearest shopping center was an hour walk away. If we want to make traffic manageable, then we need to change that. And by the way, that will also help solve the problem of kids on e bikes, which we've been hearing so much about. So I understand this is a big issue. It can't be done in the next ten years. It can't be done tomorrow or in the next ten years, but we should move forward with that in mind.

Thank you. Your time is up.

Thank you for your comments. Kevin Trussell. Welcome.

Hi. I'm Kevin Trussell. I chair the Community Library and Services Commission for the City Of Irvine. The way the government works here is you're elected and then you appoint commissioners. And you'll appoint them to transportation, the various commissions.

And I think when you do that, you look at finance and you appoint a CPA, some some accountants, somebody who's good at numbers. When you look at planning, you probably appointed an architect or maybe a retired urban planner. And there's a lot of talent there. But unfortunately, and we've talked about this, we are grossly underutilized at the commission level. And it started with our previous city manager who bypassed the commissions, either made his own decisions, or took small decisions to the seven of you to discuss up here, taking up a lot of time, losing efficiency, and something the commissioner should have done.

I'd like to see us return to that let's use the minds and the expertise of these people is about 40 or 50 commissioners and committee members. Could you scroll to council business 6.1 please and mayor if you could just grant me a little latitude here I just want to talk about my framework. No

no problem.

Okay thank you. Let's look at 6.1. Clearly a transportation issue. This should go to our transportation commission and they should come back to you with recommendations. Mayor.

Mayor. Over here.

We're in general public comments. It's not the time to be talking about an agendized item.

Well, I think he was just talking about procedure, not the item per se. So, if you don't mind, Melchino, I'll momentarily overrule you. All right? Go right ahead.

Thank you. That should go to the Transportation Commission. The next two are library items. We have a community library and services commission that's not being utilized on these. We have talent there. Six point four women's conference. Sounds like another community service topic. Send your input to your commissioner. We'll develop it, bring it back to you, see if you like it. Lastly is

the Thank you. Time is up.

Go ahead. Finish your thought if you want.

Lastly is the independent auditor idea. Let's send that to finance. Let them come up with an auditor as needed and then also identify which special projects that should be should be audited by a third party. That's all I have. I'm if you let us do the work, you just saved about an hour or two tonight during your your business.

Thank you very much for your comment. I think we'll be giving real thought and attention to your remarks.

Thank you.

All right.

Thank you for the extra time.

Thank you. Welcome.

Thank you. I'm smiling like this for a reason. I discovered something very interesting. Okay. Good evening members of the council. My name is Heidi. I'm the founder of save oak creek, save Irvine. I'm here to highlight a simple but very real problem with the proposed Oak Creek Nature Park. Just a few miles away in Lake Forest, there is already an official City Of Lake Forest Nature Park. A quiet Oak Grove pocket park with trails along Serrano Creek.

Naming Irvine's new park the exact same thing will create constant confusion for residents, visitors, delivery drivers, first responders, schools, and trail users. GPS mix ups, wrong park arrivals, duplicated signage and marketing costs, diluted search results, and frustrated phone calls to both cities are completely avoidable. It's a sloppy plant. It's sloppy planning that wastes everyone's time and money. Rest assured, I've already sent a courtesy email on behalf of the city of Irvine to Lake Forest's parks and recreation staff, city manager, mayor Robert Pequeno, and council member Benjamin you in District 2 where the park is located in case our city council members are too busy amending more open space zones.

For the record, I respectfully ask you to require a unique name for this project, such as Oak Creek Preserve. Don't let this park go viral for a naming debacle our officials could have avoided. Just Google it. Thank you.

Thank you for your comments. Mona, welcome. Good evening.

I want to start with I agree with Alan and Susan. This has been a circus. This has been a waste of our time as well. We commit to listen to you and we have wasted so much time listening to you babble about nothing. It's a circus. You have a the master of ceremonies, Kathleen. You've got the clowns, and you've got two people that have sense in their heads. We're done. We need you to act like grown ups. You are responsible.

James, I asked you on Tuesday, and this is a reflection on that meeting, special meeting, to provide us, the residents, with your manifesto that you read so fast that was a word salad to all of us. Where is it? Where is it on the website? We need to see what you're talking about. When we talk about being fiduciaries, you've got $4,600,000 at your disposal.

How is it being spent? We need to know. We need to see it line item by line item. You cannot be using this money that is under your direction for you to do, let's say, let me see how can I send stuff to get elected? This is not acceptable.

You don't have to put the burden on the residents. You have to put the burden on you. You, each one of you, have less residents to take care of than the previous city council. There's seven of you. You are approximately responsible for about 50,000, not 340,000 or 320,000. So, you don't need as much staff. Start cutting on your side. 1,300,000 was wasted on a mobility Thank

Our time is up.

Thank you for your comments.

Pam Wyckoff.

Welcome.

Mayor and council members, rigged choice voting is a bad idea. Never try to fix a bad idea. On April 28, I was in line to speak against RCV when the attorney announced a change of the issue. The original agenda subject was that we would discuss a public vote regarding RCV. The lawyer said there was a change in RCV could go through with a simple council majority.

This correction on the agenda is a significant change, which is a violation of the Brown Act. This nullifies the four twenty eight vote to proceed. RCV enables and complicates an already proven corrupt vote tabulation. Now how was our Orange County vote voter center compromised? Well, there was the bomb scare and the counting which started for twenty nine days before election date and ended twenty nine days after our our voting date.

There are the cast vote records discrepancies. We also had 66% of a ballot given to to Biden and to Trump and 32% to Biden. Between the postal service, ballot harvesting, and dropped boxes, there was no proper chain of custody. Orange County farms out their tabulations to heart intercivic. I'm out of time.

This outsource vendor is an investment of HIG capital. Our data was fed through smartmatic and Seidl to Dominion. Dominion has illegally retained control of their source codes. The manufacturing country of origin was China. Even if we get new hard and software elections are not secure unless we enact these four rules. Voter ID and resident verification. Mass mail

Your time is up.

Just finish your thought momentarily.

Second rule. No mass mailed out ballots except for sick, traveling, and military absentee ballots. Ballots must be received by election day and paper ballots only counted in one day at the precinct level.

Alright. Thank you very much for your comments. Dee? Welcome.

Hi. My name is Steve Fox, and the folders that are being passed out to you now have something entirely different than what I'm going to talk about because unfortunately what I'm going to speak about is more pressing. I strongly object to council member Melinda Lou's nomination of the Irvine Wall Of Recognition. Being appointed to serve on a few boards around Orange County or teaching a foreign language to a selected group of people does not automatically rise to the level of extraordinary service worthy of permanent recognition by the city. What is known about Anne Hugh is her close association with disgraced former council member Tammy Kim and involvement in the failed EV charging station project at The Great Park, a ten year deal that has left more than 100 unusable charging stations taking up valuable parking spaces.

Also known is her as a defendant in a civil rights lawsuit involving her Oceanside motel that resulted in a settlement being paid to plaintiffs. Permanent civic honor should not go to individuals whose records are beyond serious public controversy not nominations that immediately create distrust and concern throughout the community. This

should

not be a political favor system for insiders, friends, and connected allies. Do the honorable thing, Melinda Lou, and remove her name from the nomination list so her name isn't dragged through the mud by me at every city council meeting. Okay. And I just want to take a couple more seconds to tell you that the folders in front of you is Melinda Lou's data information on OCPA that she claims she doesn't have and her reason for deleting Kathleen Trecedar's mayor's agenda item about the OCPA that's charging all the customers in Irvine more money every month than SCE. It's crazy. It's ludicrous.

Thank you, your time is up.

Thank you for your comments. Helen. And Helen, you have ninety seconds. Welcome.

Distinguished chairman, mayor Larry Egan, council members, good afternoon. My name is Helen Wang, but my English is very poor. I try my best to impress me clearly. I live at Parkhurst Apartment in Irvine. The city of Irvine is famous for its wonderful living environment for all residents.

First of all, I would like to express my gratitude to you. However, it is being destroyed today by terrorist organization. First, the food available in in our local supermarkets had been severely polluted by harm drugs. Our drinking water has been polluted. And the the fake eggs emergence in supermarket.

The milk, cheese, beef, and pork sold at the supermarket has been piloted. And they also committed all kinds of violent Thank you.

Time is up. Why don't you take fifteen seconds to finish your thought, if you would?

Okay. Thank you. Awareness crimes on campus. I was threatened. If I tell you the truth, my family will be poisoned or murdered.

I think we're gonna have

My child has been struck by vehicles and injured several times.

I think we're going to have to leave it right there. All right? You for coming forward. Thank you for your comments.

Thank you.

Mr. Mayor, our last two in person speakers have AV materials. So if I may take the Zoom comments and we'll come back to those individuals.

Yes. So, it's just the two who are left? I'm sorry? It's just two more. No, we

have actually four on Zoom and then, yeah, two in person that have AVs. Total is six.

The queue is closed now, is it not? All right. Go right ahead.

Thank you, Mayor. Our next speaker is Eric Nashanian. Mr. Nashanian, you may unmute your mic.

Thank you, Council Members, Mayor Agram. I wanted to give a recap of the twenty three, twenty twenty six DEI meeting, which had the same agenda as the March meeting that was canceled for lack of quorum. At this meeting, only four of the seven, committee members attended. There was no participation by the public on agenda items or during public comments. The only agenda item other than, approving the minutes for the previous meeting was a discussion about the women's conference.

No actual items were voted on during the meeting other than approving the minutes. Lastly, Wendy Bacota, Councilmember Liu's committee member, demonstrated a desire to hijack the committee or future committee meetings to pursue her own agenda on behalf of the local Jewish community regarding a protest that occurred outside of City Hall on a Sunday in April where a banner was erected with provocative language about Israel. She inquired if the committee was authorized to make statements regarding such incidents to which she was informed only the mayor was authorized to speak officially for the city and such statements would have to be approved by him and go through him. You heard me talk about genocide denial here in the city and that the mayor is enabling genocide deniers by formally recognizing them. He didn't deny that.

He had an opportunity to here in public, and he did not deny that. He should be censured. I hope that our members on the diocese that are representatives of the OCPA will announce make announcements about OCPA conduct. Apparently, they're not speaking about the OCPA because there's nothing good to say about the OCPA. And on top of it, what they want to do is they want to suppress speech by the public about the failures of the OCTA so that they can prevent the public from being fully informed.

Melinda Liu, if you really cared about the Armenian genocide, you would have recognized it in April. You would have done something about it in April. You made two announcements about this memorial and the event that happened was happening in a city other than Irvine. But you didn't do anything about this proclamation in April.

Thank you. Your time is up. Our next speaker is Jo Anne Slobodian. Jo Anne, you may unmute your mic.

Thanks, Carl. Hi, everyone. I'm Joanne Slobodian. Thank you, Council Member Carroll, for including the Office of Inclusion in the audit discussion. You were very impressive at the last meeting. Later this evening, I will be asking that Oak Creek easement tracking and trigger mechanisms be included within that audit scope. But right now, I wanna focus on something bigger. In July, this council unanimously voted for the future of the 88 dash one Oak Creek protections to go before the people of Irvine. Now residents are hearing something very different, and we deserve to know what's changed. Mayor Agrin appears to be the only member of this council still publicly saying this issue should go to a ballot measure.

I appreciate knowing where he stands, and I would like to know where the rest of this council stands too. Some council members believe the Irvine Company fulfilled its 88 dash one obligations by proposing a smaller 50 acre nature park and avocado grows. That is their opinion, but that opinion should not become the decision for an entire city. Your job is to represent us, not to replace us. The voters already approved 88 dash one, and residents deserve the right to decide whether these protections were truly fulfilled.

And Mayor Agrin, since you helped create 88 dash one and if you truly believe in it, then put the easement acceptance and the unanswered 75% threshold questions on a future agenda so the public can finally get clear answers. Thanks everyone.

Our next speaker is Vicki Johnson. Ms. Johnson, you may unmute your mic.

Hello, I have a video. I hope we got into the system there.

We can hear you.

I submitted a video.

We don't have a video for you, Ms. Johnson.

All right. I guess some technical glitch. Thank you.

If I may go back to the in person speakers, mayor, if I could call forward Max E and Mikaela Montanair. And we'll start with Max.

Welcome.

Hello. I would like to start with Senate Bill 79. This bill clearly states that transit oriented development must be located within one half mile of a transit stop. Next slide. On this slide, you can see that the closest age of the golf course is more than 2.5 miles from the Metrolink station. If you intend to build a house on a golf course, I don't think you follow what the state is asking you to do. And I don't believe that Irvine Connect shuttle stop qualifies as a major transit stop. Next slide. On this slide I showed you before, only a small portion of Plain Area 12 remains undeveloped. Mister Melchin, you're clearly an intelligent person.

Instead of explaining why the easement is not part of resolution 88 dash one, please use the same level of intelligence and answer a real question before the council and the public. Why has the easement still not been formally accepted and recorded recorded? Next slide. According to my Google Maps estimate, the area is approximately 82 acres, not 50 acres. And I also showed you the slide before.

This issue began almost a year ago. If I remember correctly, it all started on May 15, and now we are approaching one year anniversary. Over time, the proposal changed from full scale redevelopment to promised 50 acres park, But when I measured the map, I got a different number. This proposal is misleading in many ways, and I believe you all know that. I'm tired of watching council members argue with each other.

It was really circle last meeting. No one is willing to challenge a powerful developer. It's very sad to see that all of you seems to agree and destroy open a city's open space from work or at least consider to destroy it. Some of you pushed very hard for audit. How about the push for audit for the easement?

Thank you. Your time is up. Mikaela?

Welcome.

Thank you. I just have a couple of pictures from the party that we had this weekend. And I wanted to say, well, we had a library advisory committee celebration at University Park, Community Park. And I wanted to thank all of you for your participation or acknowledgment in the celebration. And say, of course, that we were honored to have council members Betty Martinez Franco and Kathleen Traceter join us, along with chiefs of staff from council member Traceter, my and mayor team.

The availability meant a lot to the community. We had people from across town and I think they were all touched as well. We shared your support with the near 200 folks that have now joined the cause. Just to briefly repeat one part of what I said on Saturday, I think we're really lucky to be working with all of you. This is a council that united in delivering a fantastic library system for Irvine. And while sometimes it might be a bit sticky as we get there, we really appreciate that we can have this ongoing open dialogue. It is a big deal, and we're excited about it. So, thank you very much.

Thank you. That concludes

our public comments for nonagendized items. Taking us to the next item on the agenda which is the city manager's report. I'll turn now to city manager Sean Crombie and ask if he has a report for us this evening.

Just one item tonight, Mayor. Our police chief Mike Kent will provide a brief update on immigration enforcement.

Thank you.

Thank you, City Manager Krumovi. Good evening, Mayor and City Council. Since our last meeting, City Council meeting back on April 28, we've had one incident that I'd like to report that occurred on Wednesday, April 29. It happened in a business in the area of Bacon Rockfield. An employee was taken into custody for an immigration violation related to gang and narcotic violations. The person was taken into custody by Immigration and Customs Enforcement. And that is all I have.

If I might, Chief, was that person the subject of a judicial warrant?

They had a warrant for their arrest, yes.

A judicial warrant.

I'm not sure what kind of warrant, but I know they had a warrant for their arrest based on information they provided us.

All right. If you could let us know if that was a judicial warrant or simply an administrative warrant. Sure. Think we would want to know that, all right? No problem. Thank you very much. Nothing further, Mr. Crumby? That's correct, Mayor. All right.

With that, we'll turn to announcements, committee reports, council reports. This is an opportunity for council members to briefly report to the public what they have been doing beyond the participation in these meetings. We have a number of duties and responsibilities and council members are asked to make brief reports to the public from the dais here. I have three requests. Councilmember Martinez Franco, followed by Council Member Liu, followed by Council Member William Goh. Council Member Martinez Franco.

Thank you. Good evening, everyone. I have a few quick updates to share from my office tonight. Next slide. My office is giving free groceries to those in need in our communities by partnering with Tree of New America on Saturday, May 23 from three to five p. M. At My Car Community Park. Food will be distributed on a first come, first served basis, and we encourage attendees to bring their own reusable bags. Next slide. At Ciclo Irvine, I shared exciting news of a new bike share program coming to Irvine this summer.

The program will feature 20 electric bicycles and two docking stations, one at the Irvine Civic Center and the second just near UC Irvine. This pilot program is a step toward creating more ways for residents, students and visitors to move around Irvine with ease while supporting a healthier, more sustainable future. Next slide. Last week, I attended the SCAG Regional Conference and General Assembly to join regional leaders in conversations about the issues shaping Southern California's future. This conference brought together elected officials, agency leaders, and industry partners to focus on topics like housing, transportation, infrastructure, and resilience.

These are all issues that directly affect our city as we continue to grow. Next slide. Last, I invite you to stay connected by following me on social media. Next slide. You can also stay up to date by subscribing to our monthly newsletter where I'm sharing updates from District 5 and the city of Irvine. Please reach out if you have any questions or concerns. Thank you.

Thank you, councilmember Martinez Franco, councilmember Liu.

Thank you. Good evening, everyone. I have a few updates to share from the last two weeks. May is Asian American, Native Hawaiian, and Pacific Islander Heritage Month, with 44% of Irvine's residents identifying as AA in HPI, I was proud to submit a proclamation honoring their contributions to our city, from our school, to our businesses, to public service. Next slide.

The Irvine Child Care Project Board approved the fiscal year twenty twenty six-twenty seven budget and renew all 29 provider leases across every ISD K through six campuses. Accessible childcare at every school site is how we support working families in Irvine. Next slide, please. At Ciclo Irvine, we connected with residents and visitors about alternative transportation options available here in Irvine. Events like this help us understand what sustainable transport can look like in Irvine.

Next one, please. On June 3, our office is hosting a fire prevention town hall at OCFA headquarters from seven to 09:30 p. M. One of the best ways to stay safe is through prevention, and we want residents to learn directly from fire professionals about how to protect their homes and families. Next one, please. On June 11, our office is hosting a project and development town hall at Portola Springs Community Center. From six to 07:30 p. M, we will share with residents updates on projects planned in their neighborhoods. Join us and learn about what's being built. Next one, please. And thank you. And please contact our office if you have any concerns and need.

Thank you, councilmember Liu. Councilmember Goh.

Thank you, mayor. Hello, everyone, and thank you for joining us tonight. I have board updates from SCAG, Metrolink, OCTN, and event recaps from the past week. I attended the Southern California Association of Governments regional conference and general assembly at Palm Desert last week. I was honored and proud to represent our great city of Irvine.

Last week we also hosted tech day at City Hall showcasing Irvine's technology and innovation through a pop up market and start up pitch competition. I participated in the economic development panel alongside local founders and business leaders to encourage investments in Irvine. Next slide. Director of community and library services Chris Swammer will be joining us at our virtual town hall monthly district two, 05:30 p. M.

On May 26. We will be discussing the department's impact on Irvine from public libraries to open space and trails. Next slide. As CAG, we approved support for the basic act which will expand opportunities for local planning and transportation grants funding. At Metrolink we passed the three month continuing resolution for fiscal year twenty six-twenty seven budget in order to adjust from reductions in funding from member agencies. At OCTA we reviewed budget priorities and plan for the twenty six-twenty seven budget. Next slide. Finally, you can scan the QR codes to stay up to date with our newsletters and social media. That concludes my council update. Thank you.

Thank you. Are there other announcements? There being none, let me give

several concluding announcements. Public works week is ahead of us. The community is invited to explore the essential services that keep our city running at the twenty twenty six Public Works Week celebration. This free event will take place on Thursday, May 21, from 10AM to 2PM at the Great Park in Hanger 244. It's become a real Irvine tradition now, where you can get an up close look at public works equipment, dump trucks and street sweepers.

There will also be interactive exhibits and staff demonstrations highlighting the vital role public works operations play in daily life. Meet city staff, learn about upcoming projects, and gain insight into career pathways in public service. For more information about the event, visit cityofirvine.org/publicworksweek. Pride in Irvine. In honor of Harvey Milk Day and June Pride month, the city of Irvine invites the community to attend the fifth annual Pride in Irvine event on Friday, May 22, five to 7PM at the Irvine Civic Center Piazza right here at City Hall.

Join us as we raise the progress flag in recognition and support of our LGBTQIA plus community. This free event will feature live music, refreshments, activities, and opportunities to connect with local advocacy and support organizations while learning about valuable community resources. For more information, visit cityofirvine.org/pride. Game, basketball, and contemporary art. This provocative title relates to a city of Irvine invitation to, the entire community to experience game, basketball, and contemporary art, an art exhibit opening Sunday, May 17 at the Great Park Gallery.

Join us for an opening reception from one to 3PM. You can also take part in a free art activity and enjoy live jazz music in the Palm Court Arts Complex. Admission to each event is free. This exciting art exhibition celebrates basketball as both a sport and a form of creative expression. Explore contemporary artwork inspired by basketball culture.

The exhibition showcases basketball courts that have been transformed into works of art throughout The United States and around the world. It also highlights the newly renovated Great Park Basketball Courts featuring original artwork by California artist Katie Ann Gilmore. For more information, visit yourgreatpark.org/arts. And, finally, we have Memorial Day events of real note. The city is hosting two Memorial Day events to honor and remember the sacrifice of fallen American service members.

A special candle lighting ceremony will be held at the Northwood Gratitude And Honor Memorial at Northwood Community Park on Sunday, May 24, at 4PM. This event pays special tribute to fallen service members who served in Afghanistan and Iraq. The ceremony is held in partnership with the Northwood Memorial Committee. Guests are encouraged to bring lawn chairs or blankets for comfortable seating. We are also hosting the annual Memorial Day ceremony in the formal garden at Colonel Bill Barber Marine Corps Memorial Park on Monday, May 25 at 10AM.

A commanding officer from Irvine's adopted two eleven Marine Battalion will speak to recognize fallen service members and their sacrifice. Guests can honor family and friends who died in service to the nation by posting a brief remembrance on a memory board at the event. And cards will be available for anyone who would like to send a message of appreciation and support to members of our adopted two eleven Marine Battalion. For more information about these Memorial Day events, please visit cityofirvine.org/specialevents. Thank you to my colleagues for your reports.

That concludes reports and announcements. And we now move on to the next item on the agenda, which is additions and deletions. I'll turn to our city manager to ask if there are additions or deletions worth noting at this time.

Yes, mayor. There's two requests. First, I'd respectfully ask that item 4.1 be continued to June 23. Additionally, item 6.2 be deleted from the agenda to be brought back at a future date.

All right. Without objection, those changes will be made. Mr. Melchin, do we need to do anything by way of a formal motion?

It would be helpful because 4.1 is a public hearing to have a motion and a second from the council to continue to June 23. That will avoid us having to redo the public notice for

the matter. And we don't have to open the matter now No. For All right. I'll move that item 4.1 be continued to when?

June 23.

June 23. Is there a second?

I'll second.

That was seconded by Council Member Liu. Will the clerk please call the roll?

Mr. Mayor, just as a formality Yes. This would be a vote of both the board and the city council.

Yes.

Or the authority. Excuse me. Yes. Council member board member Carol. Yes. Council member board member Go. Yes. Council member board member Lu. Yes. Council member board member Martinez Franco. Yes. Council member board member Trishida. Yes. Vice mayor, vice chairman Mai.

Yes.

And Mayor Chairman Egren? Yes. Carries seven zero.

Thank you. That takes us to the point in our agenda, and I may need a little bit of help from our city attorney or from Mr. Peterson, but we are now convening to the special joint meeting with the Irvine Facility Financing Authority. Is that correct?

Mayor, because we just continued the sole item that involved the facilities financing authority, there's no need to convene the meeting.

Were there not minutes, though, also?

We do have a set of minutes for the authority on the agenda as part

of I the apologize.

You trust Carl.

All right. We'll go with Carl on this one then. So we're now convened to the special joint meeting with the Irvine Facilities Financing Authority. I think we need a roll call vote on that.

Sure. Council member, board member Carol.

Yes. All right.

Council member, board member Go. Yes. Council member, board member Lu. Here. Council member, board member Martinez Franco. Here. Council member, board member, Trisheeder.

Here.

Vice mayor, vice chairman Mai. Yes. And mayor, chairman, Agram?

Yes. Just to keep people advised procedurally by way of that little bit of magic and whiz bang activity, we are now meeting in what amounts to a joint meeting with the Irvine facilities financing authority, which as I understand it only has on the agenda now remaining the minutes. Is that correct?

You have item 2.1 through 2.4 for city council, and then one item for the authority, which is 3.1, as you mentioned, a set of minutes.

Should those be taken separately or sequentially? What do you suggest? Or altogether? You can take one vote. All right.

Why don't we move on then to the consent calendar, which consists on the council agenda of items 2.1 to 2.4. Consent calendar items are typically considered to be routine items that are handled by a single roll call vote For the Irvine facilities financing authority, the only consent calendar item is item 3.1, which is the minutes. I think we'll just handle them together and open those matters 2.1 to two point four and three point one will be open to public comment at this time. Do we have requests for citizens to be heard?

We do not, Mr. Mayor.

Alright. There being no requests, I'll move adoption of, well, let's do it in one fell swoop. I'll move items 2.1. Measure. Oh, wait. 2.1, two point two, two point three, and 2.4, as well as item 3.1. Measure. Yes.

I would like to put 2.4.

2.4. That's all right. The motion will be modified to pull 2.4 and simply move items 2.1 to two point three and three point one.

Second.

Seconded by council member and vice mayor James Mai. Will the clerk please call the roll?

Council member, board member Carol. Yes. Council member, board member Go. Yes. Council member board member Lu? Yes. Council member board member Martinez Franco? Yes. Council member board member Trusieder?

Yes.

Vice mayor, vice chairman Mai? Yes. And mayor chairman Agram? Yes. Carries, seven zero.

Thank you. That concludes those items. With the exception of 2.4, I'll recognize now council member Martinez Franco.

Yes, thank you so much. I wanted to put 2.4 because it has so much good information that our residents deserve to know all the good things that we are doing for affordable housing. So many times we don't hear all the things that we are doing and we think that we are not doing enough for affordable housing. So this presentation is going to show us all the good thing that the staff has been fighting the grants the staff is fighting for grants at the state level and all the good things that are coming. Thank you.

Thank you. Thank you for bringing that to our attention. And with that, would you like to make the motion to adopt item 2.4?

I move the motion to adopt item 2.4.

I'll second that. And staff can come forward now and speak to the motion and the item.

Good evening, mayor and vice mayor, members of the council. My name is Hita Mosesman. I am the housing manager for the city. And joining me is Valeria Ramos. She's part of the housing team as a senior management analyst. And we did prepare a presentation to summarize this grant. We're happy to do the presentation or answer questions. It's your choice.

Why don't you move ahead with the presentation? I assume it's fairly brief.

It is.

But this is, as Council Member Martinez Franco said, a very important matter. We are making extraordinary progress here in Irvine. Actually, there's tremendous progress being made statewide. And, I think it's important that we take five or ten minutes to hear from you, Anna.

Thank you. And, I'll start. So, the presentation is regarding a grant called the permanent local housing allocation grant. This grant is provided by the California department of housing and community development. And it's to fund unmet housing need in communities. It is offered to every jurisdiction in California. It is noncompetitive and the amount is based on the population of the jurisdiction. The annual funding comes in five year increments And it is a really, really flexible grant. It can be used for rental or ownership housing. It can be used for predevelopment costs, construction, or preservation of affordable units.

By way of background, the city has already applied for this grant in 2020. That was the first application date. And the year one funding out of that five year period went to partially assist the cartwright family apartments 100% affordable housing project in the Irvine Business complex area of the city. In 2024 the application was amended again the flexibility on this grant you can amended it appears as many times as you need to as things change. And that was amended to accommodate the bridge housing facility but that project did not move forward and so no funding was used for that.

In order to capture years two through five we have a second amendment before you on the consent calendar and that is to change the application again to fund 60% of the revenue for the proposed gateway project or a rental project to provide assistance 100% affordable project and 40% for a new program workforce housing down payment assistance program. There is a new requirement that 40% of the grant funds do need to go to ownership housing now that' a change from the previous amendment. Amended application is before you this evening It has attached to it draft policies and procedures related to the down payment assistance program. We are on a bit of a deadline. The state requires us to submit this amended application by June 30.

So, we can hold on to all of that funding. If we did not make that deadline, we would miss the year two funding, which is about $1,000,000 And, next slide, please. So, the proposed workforce housing down payment assistance program, again, 40% of this grant we're estimating at $1,700,000 over the next four years would be allocated to this. It's modeled after a similar program in the city of Simi Valley. They're also using this grant for this purpose.

And, what's interesting about this grant and the flexibility is we can actually target the missing middle people who wouldn't normally qualify for affordable housing. There's this area median income that dictates whether you qualify or not, where you fall within that. And so, traditional affordable housing with a capital A is for 120% of area median income and below. This program would serve those at 120% to 150%. So, it's really the only funding source for ownership, especially at that income level.

It would operate as a revolving loan fund. So, the city would provide town vein assistance but it would be paid back. And also the city would retain a share of the equity from the home that would be sold. Again, you do have a draft policies and procedures document. This can be thought of as kind of a living document.

We can make changes to it. It is in draft form, but we needed to provide that to the state to show them at least a template of how this program would work. And speaking of how it would work, the city would provide a maximum down payment assistance of 15% of purchase price. The homeowner would find their own home that would not be income restricted. They would go to the open market and find a home that would be no more than 70% of median home price.

So, think of a first home, perhaps a condominium. And then, again, they select their own home. They provide and select their own mortgage on the open market from a qualified lender. And then, when the home is then sold, we as a city get our loan back 0% interest it's a second mortgage they don't have to make any payments on it they pay back the original loan plus a percentage of equity And the next slide illustrates a hypothetical example. Because I know it's hard to wrap your head around what those numbers would look like.

Thinking about someone buying a home this year for a purchase price of $1,000,000 They would hopefully bring some savings with them, potentially. Even if they didn't, it would be okay. But in this scenario, 50,000 would be brought in as their share of the down payment. The city would loan 150,000 so that the homeowner would have a 20% down payment keeping the payment a little bit lower with the larger down payment. And so the city would be providing in essence 15% assistance And that percentage is we refer to as the ratio of program assistance is important in the formula on how we are paid back and on the equity share as well.

So, if that home was lived in for five years and the homeowners decide they're going to sell and move to a different home, let's just say they sold it for $1,200,000 after they pay all of their commissions closing costs, whatever remaining mortgage is there. And then they get their original down payment of $50,000 back. We get our $150,000 from the down payment assistance. It leaves an extra that we're calling the net equity of $190,000 The homeowner would get 75% of that amount. So, in this hypothetical example, that would be about $143,000 The city would get that ratio of original assistance, which is 15%, plus a static 10% added on.

So, that would be a constant number for a total of 25% share of the equity in total with the original loan. And next slide please. So, on the rental side, we covered the ownership side. The proposed project would be the affordable portion of the Gateway Village project. That would be nearly 300 units of affordable housing at lower incomes.

80% of area median income and below. The projects affordable housing typically does require some type of financial assistance to get it off the ground. And so, we would have about $2,500,000 available to us. And, again, it's a flexible grant. If that doesn't need to be spent for that purpose, we can allocate it to another project and amend the application.

It can be used for predevelopment, construction, many different things. And, again, we're estimating $2,500,000 over four years. And next slide, please. This last slide just shows you sort of a pie chart of the funding. So, 1,700,000 over four years for the ownership portion of the program, dollars 2,500,000 for the rental. And we also get an administrative allowance that we can use for staff time and other costs as part of the grant. And that concludes our presentation. We're happy to answer any questions you might have.

Well, thank you very much for that report. Thank you, Councilmember Martinez Franco, for pulling this item and bringing to everyone's attention just how much we're doing. I, in my State of the City remarks recently and last year as well, stated the goal of reaching 10,000 affordable housing units in the city of Irvine. I don't have to tell folks there's an endless need for affordable housing. We can't take care of the entire world, the entire state, even Orange County on our own.

But we can do our fair share and then some. And I just want to take this opportunity to thank you, Hida, and your colleagues and others for all the creative, innovative work you're doing to take advantage of every single dollar that we can and to integrate affordable housing into the mix of housing in the Irvine community, which I think is a stellar example for other communities. And thank you for what you do. With that, I want to turn to council member or vice mayor James Mai, followed by concluding words from Councilmember Martinez Franco and then Councilmember Liu. Councilmember Mai.

Thank you, Mayor. And I'd like to echo a lot of the words that the mayor said as well with this program. I think the important thing here is a lot of people believe that some of these programs are prepackaged from the state and we just accept them. But in this case, think lot of credit goes to Hida, your team, and then also you and the entire team here on the creativity of this. Because this I've worked with a lot of HCD departments over the years at the county level, state level, but I haven't seen somebody take a proactive approach to something like this and create a program that actually benefits the community, but also builds equity for the city as well, develops revenue for the city.

And that's amazing where we don't have to spend $1 but we're sharing the equity with the residents as well. So, job on this and I hope we can expand this. Thank you.

Thank you, Councilmember Mai. Councilmember Martinez Franco.

Thank you so much. The first day that I got into the office, it was one of my purposes as well, to increase workforce housing because it's not only people that are about to lose their homes, it's people that are in the workforce, people that work here in Irvine that cannot afford to pay their mortgage or just to live in the city. So when I know for those of us who have lived so many years in the city knows that there was a program similar to this back in the day, early 2000s still. And a lot of people were able to get their homes that way. So to bring back the opportunity to young professionals to buy their homes, that's going to be really cool.

And not only that, to keep on building into that with the equity that you're going to recover from that loan to keep on helping people, it's I think this is the way to do it. So thank you so much for all the work and for finding those grants from the state. Thanks.

Thank you, Councilmember Martinez Franco. Councilmember Liu, I think you'll have the last word.

Thank you. Well, first of all, thank you. I really am looking forward to this program being launched. So, just believe that we kind of raised this question a little bit before about whether this will be a program that will eventually, if we will be able to find private funding, would we be able to accept that? Or that will be a restriction of some of the grants that we receive?

That's a good question. And there is an option for the city to potentially form a housing trust. That would be designated funds that the grant could go into and then that would allow for private donations from companies, employers, etcetera, which I think would resolve any issues of giving funds directly to city may trigger some issues with gifting and things like that. And so, it's for a primary purpose, and it would be a restricted fund. But, I do think that's an option to look into.

And, with regards to using this a portion of this into a development affordable housing development, we will be able to support something in collaboration with other housing finance trust or funds? Yes, that

we could have those funds, our funds, these grants funds, plus any kind of donations for workforce housing in the fund together. And, that would give it the sort of designated purpose for down payment assistance for local folks who work in Limp and Irvine. Okay, great. Thank you.

Thank you very much for the report. There is a motion that is properly in front of us. Would the clerk please call the roll? Council Member Carroll?

Yes. Council Member Go? Yes. Council Member Liu? Yes. Council Member Martinez Franco? Yes. Council Member Trecedor? Yes. Vice Mayor May? Yes. And Mayor Egren? Yes. Carry seven zero.

Thank you again to our very, very capable staff. Appreciate it. With that, we have covered the consent calendars. Item 4.1 has been continued. We now move, I believe, well, no, we have to adjourn the special joint meeting at this time.

I'm trying to keep track of all this. Having been in a special joint meeting, we want to adjourn that joint meeting and return simply to the city council meeting, the regular city council meeting. I will also move that adjournment of the special joint meeting. Is there a second?

Second.

Seconded by Council Member Mai. Would the clerk please call the roll?

Council Member, Board Member Carroll?

Yes.

Council member board member Go? Yes. Council member board member Lu? Yes. Council member board member Martinez Franco? Yes. Council member board member Trusieder?

Yes.

Vice mayor, vice chairman Mai? Yes. Mayor, chairman Agram? Yes. Carries seven-zero.

Thank you. We're now reconvened to the regular city council meeting, taking us to item five, which is public hearings. Public hearings are a slightly more formal procedure, but otherwise are pretty much in the nature of counsel business. Public hearings tonight consist of simply one, item 5.1. Will the clerk please identify this public hearing item by subject and title?

Item 5.1 is approval of the Community Development Block Grant, Home Investment Partnerships, and Emergency Solutions Grant twenty twenty six to twenty twenty seven action plan funding

recommendations. Thank you. This is a public hearing which I now declare open. We have our staff available. Please identify yourselves and if you would make the presentation. Thank you.

Thank you. Good evening, members of city council. My name is Sarah Scobedo, management analyst, part of the office in health and wellness. With me tonight is Valiquette Sio, program assistant, and via Zoom is the city's federal grant consultant, Frank Perez of NBG Associates. Thank you for the opportunity to present the recommended funding allocations for the city's community development block grant, home investment partnerships, and emergency solutions grant.

As you know, the US Department of Housing and Urban Development or HUD provides our city with the following entitlement grants. CDPG, which funds community programs and capital improvement projects. The home investment partnership program, which focuses on the creation of affordable housing and ESG, which addresses homelessness prevention and rapid rehousing needs. These grants are essential to our ability to address critical needs in our community, particularly for our low and moderate income residents. HUD provides annual entitlement grants to the city.

These funds support a wide range of activities that benefit our citizens, residents, including affordable housing, public services, capital improvement projects, and homelessness prevention. To remain eligible for these funds, the city must follow all federal regulations and program guidelines, conduct a public hearing tonight, and submit the annual action plan by May 15. The twenty twenty six through twenty seven action plan outlines how the city will allocate the CDBG home and ESG funds during the program year beginning July 2027. It describes how each funded activity and addresses priorities in our consolidated plan and establishes measurable goals for each project. I want to acknowledge that the thorough review process conducted by our community and library services commission, they held three public meetings to review all funding applications, hear oral presentations from the applicants, and carefully evaluate each proposal against our established criteria.

Commission considered factors such as each program's alignment with the consolidated plan, the efficiency of the proposed services, the organization's capacity to deliver results, and the number of residents who would benefit. Had released the city's allocation on 04/03/2026, the total funding available for this program year is about $3,700,000. It is important to note that the funding of these programs have no bearing to the city's general fund. These figures include the exact allocations and are fully accounted for in the proposed budget. The commission reviewed 14 applications for CDBG public services and is recommending funding for 11 organizations.

Moving to our funding let's look at first the CDBG which is before you here.

The full list and recommended amounts are shown here in attachment one of the staff report or recommendations to stay within the available budget. For cdbg capital improvements we received one application from the public works and sustainability department of ada improvements at various citywide locations. The commission recommended fully funding this project at their full request. ESG funds focus on homelessness prevention and rapid rehousing. We received four applications and the commission recommends funding all.

All agencies have committed the required 100% match were also recommending $17,500 for the regional hMIS data systems operated by the orange county united way which will be paid out of the ESG administrative agency. For home capital funds no applications were reviewed during the nova process the commission recommends earmarking the available amount for future affordable housing development project. As noted in the staff report city staff recommends issuing a targeted affordable housing focus notice of funding availability to include these home capital funds. Applications will be better for eligibility and brought back to the committee and library services commission and city council for consideration at a future meeting. This approach will help us maximize the creation and preservation of affordable housing units for low income residents.

In conclusion we are recommending that the city council approved by resolution the twenty twenty six twenty seven action plan and the cdbg home and ESG funding allocation as presented. These plans and allocation represent our commitment to addressing the needs of our low and more income residents while complying with all of the hard requirements. This concludes our presentation. We believe these recommendations align well with the priorities in our consolidated plan and will make a meaningful difference for urban residents who need these services the most. We happy to answer any questions from the council. Thank you.

Thank you for your report. Thank you for all the good work that went into it, both from the staff and, of course, from the commission. We assume we will be hearing a little bit about that in a moment. But it's just important, I think, for us to note just how much our staff and our commissioners and nonprofit organizations are doing to meet unmet human need in this city, helping thousands and thousands of people. I want us to pass this thinking it's just business as usual.

I think everybody's stretching to do more and more to really create an exemplary community here and see to it that unmet human need is in fact being met, whether it's childcare, housing, a variety of social support systems. Very, very impressive. Thank you. I'm going to turn to my colleagues to see if they have any questions of staff or comments at this time. And then we will turn to the public at large for comments. One quick round of questions or comments. Councilmember Liu.

Thank you. Thank you for the presentation. I wanted to highlight this part. A lot of residents aren't aware that these are very worthwhile organizations, like the mayor mentioned, covering child care, after school care, child development, senior services, food services, housing, and all kinds of well, domestic violence and all kinds of quality of life issues, such as support to residents. And so, I wanted to thank all the commissioners And for spending the I know how much time you've worked on this, and also the staff for working on this to really find an equitable way to meet everybody's needs.

And, I wish we had more to give. And, if anybody's out there willing to donate, please look up these organizations and help them and support them financially.

Thank you, Councilmember Liu. With that, and seeing no further requests at this time, I'll turn to our city clerk, Mr. Carl Peterson. Are there requests from citizens to be heard?

Thank you, Mayor. We do have one request to speak.

All right. Is that person present?

They are, Mayor. If I could call forward Kevin Trussell.

Welcome back, Mr. Trussell.

Thank you. It's been a while.

Since you're the, loan, requester here. I know I know you and the commissioners did so much work. Do not feel yourself constrained to three minutes, please.

I need more time on the last speech than this one. Okay. But, as stated, I chair the Community Library and Services Commission. I'd like to thank the staff for all their hard work, Sarah and Vali, and I sure appreciate the guidance of Director Slama. Thank you. I'd also like to thank all the commissioners. They're fun to work with. They're great people. You've done made great selections, your appointees. It's a big project as mayor mentioned, as staff mentioned.

If you double sided the pieces of paper, the stack would be that high for those of us who need paper. Everybody else uses thumb drive. But tremendous amount of work. These are the results of our hard work. We're recommending the distribution of almost $3,700,000 and you'll be happy to know that this recommendation was voted 100% unanimous across the commissioners.

Couple of highlights. We have two new charities we're funding. One is the City of Irvine I Care program, which is an outreach program with Irvine PD because the police are out in the field every day and they're able to identify those in need of an emergency shelter grant or like services. The second new one, the Boys and Girls Club College Bound program, that's new, and they're going to assist our high schoolers with selecting the right school, whether it be a trade school or a four year college, help them with the application, the essays, those kinds of things. So, giving them a hand.

The nine other charities that we are recommending are experienced. They've already done great things in Irvine, and we assume they will continue to do so. This is an example of where a commission does a lot of heavy lifting and we bring to you a recommendation. We hope that you'll respect our process and our efforts and that you'll approve the funding levels as recommended. I'm available for questions.

Thank you. If you'd just wait a moment. How many applicants were there altogether? And I want to make a point here, which is over the years, nonprofits, they come and they go. It seems to me we have identified a really stellar collection of nonprofits that we can rely on year after year after year, and they rely on us.

Is that a fair statement of where we've been with this We're 14

applicants this year. We're recommending the funding of 11 of them. The paperwork process is pretty inundating. There's a lot of work to do. So, some charities will get a funding one year and they just can't keep up with the work and they pass on it. Not stated in here, but we also fund a fair housing element as well. That's required by HUD.

Great. And everybody's happy? I notice

the Everybody wants more money.

But I notice I notice they were asking for a certain amount and were in fact granted that amount.

Some of them are very close to their ask. Some are a little distant. I can't speak for every commissioner, but I look at the financial statements. And if we gave them $50,000 last year and now on their financial statement they have $100,000 more, I would say they're not putting the money into the field. They're not buying the meals, the homes, the housing, whatever. So, I would hold that against the charity. They're not using the money in a timely manner. And then I also look at track record. And I look at did they do the paperwork on time or staff having to chase them.

Yes.

Those are criteria.

And at these commission meetings, is there a fair amount of give and take or is that kinda behind the scenes that

There's some give and take, but most votes that we have at the commission, 90%, 95% unanimous. So, we give and take on all issues until there's a level of satisfaction.

All right. Well, I'll tell you what. Stand by here. I'll ask last call for any questions of Commissioner Tercel. Nothing further? Then I think at this time there are no further requests from anyone to be heard. Is that correct, Mr. Peterson?

That's correct, Mayor.

All right. I think it would be appropriate then for me to move that the public hearing be closed? Is there a second? Second. Seconded by Council Member Liu. Would the clerk please call the roll?

Council Member Carroll? Yes. Council Member Goh? Yes. Council Member Liu? Yes. Council Member Martinez Franco? Yes. Councilmember Trecedor?

Yes.

Vice Mayor Mai? Yes. Mayor Agram? Yes. Carries seven zero.

Thank you. And with that, I'll move adoption of the staff recommended resolution, which I will read not because we are required to but I just want everybody to know what we are doing. A resolution of the city council of the City Of Irvine California approving the twenty twenty six-twenty twenty seven action plan and federal community development block grant home investment partnerships and emergency solutions grant entitlement programs. Is there a second?

Second.

Seconded by Councilmember Liu. No request to be heard. Would the clerk please call the roll?

Councilmember Carroll? Yes. Councilmember Goh? Yes. Councilmember Liu?

Yes.

Council Member Martinez Franco? Yes. Council Member Traceter?

Yes.

Vice Mayor Mai? Yes. And Mary Agram? Yes. Carry seven zero.

There we are. And thank you once again, everyone, for your hard work. And it's making a real difference in people's lives. We really appreciate it. Thank you.

That takes us to council business. Council business on this agenda tonight includes items 6.1 through 6.5. Which ones did we remove earlier? Item 6.2 was removed. 6.2, the Irvine Public Library Foundation proposed framework. Was that continued to a date certain? No. Just continued indefinitely. Just continued. All right.

And what was the other one? The other one was item 4.1, Mayor. Oh, that's behind us. Alright. We've got it. Then, items 6.1 through 6.5 on the agenda, not including however 6.2 which has been continued. With that, we will turn to item 6.1 with the clerk under counsel business please identify this item by title and subject?

Thank you, mayor. Item 6.1 is response to Orange County grand jury report regarding connecting Orange County to LAX, evaluating transportation options.

Thank you. I see we have very capable staff with us. Do you have a presentation?

We do have a brief presentation.

Thank you. We'll call on you then. Please identify yourselves, introduce yourselves, this subject, which is an important matter, although I don't think there'll be much in the way of debate about it tonight. Go right ahead.

Very good. Good evening, Mayor Agron and council members. I'm Mike Davis, the transit administrator for the city. With me is Kermin Lau, the deputy director of transportation. And, we're here to discuss the connecting Orange County to LAX grand jury report and the suggested city's response to it.

As background, on February 23, the OC Grand Jury released the Connecting Orange County to LAX Evaluating Transportation Options Grand Jury Report. The report looked at transportation from Orange County to LAX. It identified a reasonably affordable and reliable public transportation option to LAX using the Metrolink train to LA Union Station and the FlyAway shuttle to LAX. The cost for this is $23.75 combined. If you take Amtrak and FlyAway, it's $31.75 combined.

Both take about one point nine hours to do. While the grand jury report acknowledges the existing public option, they also looked at five cities in Orange County for potential direct to LAX services. And those include Anaheim, Irvine, Fullerton, Buena Park, and Westminster. From 2009 to 2012, Los Angeles World Airports funded and operated a fixed schedule flyaway bus service that went out of the Irvine Station. The city did not provide any funding for the service, but did dedicate a bus stall at the Irvine Station for use with the program.

The flyway offered six round trips per day, which cost at that time $25 per passenger. During the three years of service, the ridership was low, averaging 48 riders per day or four riders per trip. The service was terminated on 08/31/2012, leaving an operating loss of $382,337. The grand jury report offered one finding and one recommendation related to the city of Irvine. The finding, which was finding three, states, the Irvine Transportation Center is a viable potential location for direct bus service to LAX due to its location near South Orange County, freeway access, and multimodal connectivity, despite being 50 miles from LAX.

And, according to the grand jury's response options, the city can respond in one of two ways. Either finding that the respondent, we agree with the finding, or the respondent disagrees wholly or partially with the finding. Staff suggested the city answer with the first response. The respondent agrees with the finding. We would explain that the city agrees that the Irvine Station would be a viable potential location for direct bus service to LAX.

And, we would cooperate with an interested operator, helping with outreach and dedicating a bus stall at the Irvine Station for flyaway or other direct transportation to LAX. The grand jury report also includes recommendations. Recommendation five relates to Irvine and states, by 09/30/2026, the Irvine City Council should direct its transportation department to review the previous flyway service that ended in 2012, engage with Los Angeles World Airport's LAWA Mobility Unit or any other express bus service of their choice, and, upon receiving the City Council approval, submit a business case study to LAWA or other express bus service or services. This study should include projected ridership, financial sustainability, infrastructure readiness, and community benefits to support funding of the proposed service. The response options for the city, there are four.

One would be the recommendation has been implemented. Two, the recommendation has not yet been implemented but will be implemented. Three, the recommendation requires further analysis. Or, four, the recommendation will not be implemented. In preparation for the response, staff contacted LAWA flyaway staff and learned that LAWA is not looking to resume Irvine Flyaway service.

This is due to the Irvine Flyaway's low ridership when it ran, the fact that it operated at a loss of more than $382,000, and an expectation that resumed service would have continued low ridership. Also, fact that FlyAway lacks funding to resume resume service. LAWA indicated that they terminated FlyAway services in Irvine and other locations also due to the success and takeoff of ride share services like Uber and Lyft, changing transportation plans at LAX. And they also noted that they are not aware of any private sector interest to provide the service. And if you do look, shuttle van services now have all gone to group reservations only.

There are also challenges of driver shortages and wage increases. Staff has engaged LAWA. We've also been in contact to other operators to determine interest. To date, there doesn't appear to be interest to provide direct bus service from Irvine to LAX. Given the fact that LAWA is not interested in resuming flyaway service from Irvine, staff suggests the following response to recommendation five.

And that would be number four. The recommendation will not be fully implemented because it is not warranted or is not reasonable. We would then also explain that the city will engage with LAWA or other providers to discuss possibilities. With the city's limited transit funding, feel the city cannot pursue the business case study or funding for the service. Funding for a business case study or for operations of the service would need to be provided by LAWA or other interested party.

Since the prior flyaway service proved to have low ridership and ended in bankruptcy, the city questions its sustainability and likelihood for success, especially considering the prevalence of on demand rideshare services. If LAWA or other providers are willing to conduct this study and decide to resume direct service, the city will work with them on outreach and dedicate a bus stall at the Irvine Station for this purpose. And that concludes our presentation. We'd be happy to answer any questions you might have.

Thank you. Let me just comment very briefly. When did we have that service available? Was the early two thousand's?

That service ran for three years from 2009 to 2012. All right.

The city has grown significantly since then. And certainly the business community and the spectrum and transportation center area has grown tremendously as has the Great Park. My guess is this is one of those situations where the timing was simply not right. The service was terrific. Those who used it commented over and over how great it was.

They basically could get to LAX in about forty five minutes, fifty minutes, because they use the special designated lanes for bus service and so forth. I would hope that we would maybe just stay in touch with LA World Airways, see if there is renewed interest. And I think it might be worth speaking with some of the bigger businesses as well. I wouldn't invest a lot of staff time, but with the Olympics coming up in 2028 and with the continuing astounding growth of the business community, my guess is if there were a renewed service established, it would be very successful. But those are just my subjective views.

I did, I think, in reading the letter that we're sending back, appreciate you, massaged it a little to soften it so that it didn't indicate we're a hard no on any of this.

Yes. Yeah, think we, we are, we would be very interested in continuing conversations with whatever parties would be interested in seeing what could occur.

I think it might be worth talking to the Chamber of Commerce as well. I'll tell you, being able to get to LAX for anything less than $50 in a reasonable amount of time with free parking at this end,

I think

is unattractive service. Keep your eyes and ears open. That's my view of it. And I did read the letter and found it satisfactory. Presuming this passed tonight I will be signing that letter. Anything further councilmember James Mai.

Thank you mayor and thank you for the presentation as well. I'm just making sure here, we're just this motion and this recommendation is just to respond with option number four, which is basically a hard no. I'm glad it's a hard no. It doesn't take a they may do some things differently in Los Angeles, but in Irvine, we don't need to spend 80,000 to $100,000 to do a formal study to know that the program ended in bankruptcy and negative 365,000 So, thank you for doing the right thing here. And yes, I guess we got to keep our options open, but it doesn't look like things are going to change in the future for this program. Thank you.

All right, Councilmember Mai. Thank you. And no further requests. With that, I'll tell you what, I'll just are there any requests from the public to be heard?

No, Mr. Mayor.

There being none, I'll move staff recommended action to approve and authorize the mayor to sign the response letter to connecting Orange County to LAX Evaluating Transportation Options Grand Jury Report. Is there a second?

Second.

Seconded by Council Member Mai. With that, would the clerk please call the roll?

Council Member Carroll? Yes. Council Member Go? Yes. Council Member Liu? Yes. Council Member Martinez Franco?

Yes.

Council Member Trusieder?

Yes.

Vice Mayor Mai? Yes. And Mayor Akron? Yes. Carry seven-zero.

Let me also just take this opportunity to just thank you for all the great work you're doing with Irvine Connect and other efforts to bring our transit system up to where it needs to be. Much appreciated. Thank you. With that, we've disposed of item 6.1. 6.2 has been continued. Item 6.3, would the clerk please identify that item by title and subject?

Exploration of purchase of University Park Library property from County Of Orange.

Thank you. Welcome to our city staff here. Our director, Chris Lama and Julia Zioli, we appreciate you being here. We know you've been hard at work. And wow, we got to you at a reasonable hour. That's pretty good. With that, would you please further identify yourselves and this subject, if you would?

Yes. Thank you, Mayor Agrin, Vice Mayor Maying, City Council members. I am Chris Lama, Director of Community and Library Services, joined here tonight by our city librarian, Julie Zioli. So, we're here as a follow-up to a previous direction from council regarding exploration of the purchase of University Park Library property from the County Of Orange. So, just a little bit of background.

As a reminder, on 07/23/2024, City Council approved the transition of library services from the County to the City, including the assumption of management of the City owned Heritage Park library and a five year lease for the city or I'm sorry, the county owned University Park Library. And then, fast forward to 02/10/2026, following an item submitted by Councilmember Martinez Franco, the City Council directed City Manager and staff to continue exploring the feasibility of purchasing the University Park Library from the County, and returned to the City Council within ninety days with a comprehensive strategy outlining what the city's done to negotiate with the county. Following that city council direction, we initiated discussions with the County Of Orange regarding a potential purchase of the property. During those discussions, the county indicated that while they value the partnership with the city and support continued library services at the University Park location, the property is not available for sale at this time. As indicated in the current lease the county expressed openness to consider potential extension of that five year lease at an appropriate time in the future.

And I'll hand it to Julie for a bit more information.

Thank you, Director Slama. So, given these constraints, staff efforts have focused on identifying strategies including monitoring the lease timeline maintaining a collaborative relationship with the county and understanding market rates in order to prepare for future lease discussions and ensure continuity of library services. In the near term, staff will continue to monitor conditions and engage with the county and will return to this council with updates or recommendations as appropriate if circumstances change or new opportunities arise. To the extent negotiations occur, any proposed lease terms or agreements will be presented to City Council for consideration and direction. And so, tonight's staff recommends that the City Council receive and file this report.

Staff will continue to monitor conditions, engage with the county, and return to council if circumstances change or again if new opportunities arise. And that concludes our presentation and we are happy to answer any questions council may have. Thank you.

All right. I'll turn at this time to my council colleagues. Before I do, are there any public comments requested?

Yes, mayor. We have six requests to speak, five in person and one on Zoom.

All right. We'll hold off on those for the moment and hear from council members at the dais here, Council member Martinez Franco originally pursued this matter and has requested to be heard. So we'll happily turn to her now at this time. Councilmember Martinez Franco.

Thank you. First, I wanna thank our city staff, especially deputy director Julie Zioli for the work that has gone into this report and for continuing to prioritize uninterrupted service at the University Park Library. I also want to thank the residents and the community members who continue to stay engaged on this issue. Your advocacy has helped keep this conversation focused on what matters the most, protecting access to this library for the families, the students, seniors, and neighbors who relied on it. While I understand from the staff report that the county has indicated the property is not available for sale at this time, I don't want us to treat that as the end of the conversation.

The staff report makes it clear that the city will continue operating under the existing five year lease and that the county is open to discussing a possible lease extension in the future. That is helpful. But I think we need to be as proactive as possible now rather than waiting until we are closer to the end of the lease term. The report also refers to contingency planning should lease terms change in the future. So with that, I would like to move to have a motion.

I move to direct staff to conduct a professional appraisal and I don't know if you can put it up conduct a professional appraisal of the University Park Library land, ensuring that the valuation strictly reflects its current recreational zoning. Number two, secure real estate and negotiation to evaluate the property's market position. Number three, identify strategic actions to facilitate a future acquisition or long term lease renewal. Number four, report back to city council within ninety days with a summary of findings and options for further direction.

Is that your motion?

That's a motion, yes.

All right. Is there a second?

Second.

Seconded by Councilmember Treseder. Would you like to speak to the motion, Councilmember Martinez Franco?

Yeah, just

one Could you leave that on the screen, please? I don't see it here on the monitor. There we are. Thank you. Go ahead.

Yeah. No, no. I just wanted to make sure that we are proactive and that we continue negotiations. I know that the zoning of the land, it's recreational. And I know that we were thinking that if there was another lease in another library in a commercial space, it would have been $40,000 So, it doesn't make sense that if we were going to rent a space in a commercial space, now we are renting a space in a recreational place and from the county for $40,000 that doesn't make sense.

And I understand that there might not be we might not be able to negotiate the current lease, but if we appraise the land properly and appraise it as with the current zoning, then we can negotiate in future negotiations. Thank you.

Thank you. Councilmember Carroll.

Thank you, mayor. And I look forward to hearing from public, obviously, too. And I want to thank my colleague, Councilmember Martinez Franco, for really digging in on the University Park Library issue, our home library for the South Of Irvine. I guess I just have some quick can we get that motion back up, please? Just reading this for the first time as it was not circulated prior to this moment. Can we get some detail from staff as to how much it could be a Pete Carmichael question, I don't know. Sorry, you on the spot but how much would a professional appraisal of the site cost us?

Good evening thank you for the question councilmember carol. Usually an appraisal of this type somewhere in the 10 to $12,000 range.

I guess the other items I don' I feel like it would and maybe it's a question for the city matter. Do we have to secure real estate negotiation expertise? I think we have that in house with Mr. Carmichael and Mr. Torelli and others. But is that would that require additional putting aside staff time for a second, would that be additional cost?

I think we have the expertise in house to handle that.

Okay. And then strategic actions to facilitate our future acquisition, not sure what that is. Report back to the City Council, okay. So I guess I'd like to hear from the public. I want to save this library like everyone else. Some of us have heard the supervisor in the area wants to turn that site into affordable housing. I think she has since walked away from that due to protests from the neighbors. I would like to see that to be a library site permanently. The supervisor in the area refused to sell us the library, at least according to my understanding. I would love to support this.

I think given our budgetary constraints and the things we're about to talk to tonight, I'm not sure I could get there. I don't think a professional appraisal, as much as I think it's interesting, I'm not really sure what that's going to do. Let me just ask quickly, just try to get one more piece of information here from the public. The county said what? Can you just tell me, Chris, in one sentence what the county said?

Sure. Pretty much what I said earlier, they said they value the partnership and continued library services at University Park, but the property is not for sale at this time.

So, we have an owner. The owner is the county, Orange County, California. We have a that's a potential seller that doesn't want to sell. So, I don't really see the kind of especially given our budget constraints and that we may have a structural deficit and everything we've been talking about for the last few meetings, I'm not sure why we would expend those funds. Although I'm absolutely supportive of this and doing everything we can, including perhaps a letter from the city council to Supervisor Foley.

I know we've all spoken. I would imagine we all have. I can tell you about my personal conversation with her about it, where she told me that the city got swindled by the county, but that's a different conversation. But she did not express to me any interest whatsoever in selling us this library. Know, people call me out constantly all the time.

I think that we need to make a full court press on our supervisor. I've spoken to the other supervisor that represents Irvine, Supervisor Wagner. He doesn't represent this area. But I do know the way the county works, the supervisors have extreme and strong influence with the county CEO for the matters that occur within their district. If you think about Orange County just as a perspective, especially for the library advocates, of which I'm one, the County of Orange, if it was a state, by population would be the twenty third largest state in the Union.

So, like I like to joke with Supervisor Foley and Wagner and others, every county supervisor is like the equivalent of 20 state senators in another state in the union in that sense. So I think we can really put the full court press on it without having to spend city dollars, but I really do appreciate the effort into really having Irvine essentially flex and tell the county what we want with respect to this library site. And I'm all on board for that. I'm not sure I'm on board for spending Irvine taxpayer dollars on an appraisal to send to a party that doesn't want to sell me anything. With that, I look forward to what everyone else has to say. Thank you, mayor.

Thank you, councilmember Carole, councilmember Martinez Franco, and then councilmember James Mai.

I completely agree with council member Carol. I don't want to spend continue spending tax dollars that we could have saved a long time ago. $40,000 a month, that we shouldn't be paying. And we could we cannot moving forward another twenty years paying $40,000 a year. So I prefer to pay $10,000 now and keep on saving millions and dollars of taxpayer money to our residents.

We will save money in the future and that is our goal given our predictions of losing even 40 something million dollars in the future, if we do this negotiation right in the future, even if it's a lease, we are gonna save millions of dollars of tax payers. So, 10,000 for an appraisal now is a good investment for the future. So, I'm for it.

Thank you. Council Member Mai.

Thank you, Mayor. Hear both sides here. I'm very interested in purchasing University Park Library as well. But the situation that we're in right now is that we have a landlord or a property owner that doesn't want to sell it to us. And has said specifically, if I heard you right, Chris, is that they will never sell it to us.

The the message actually was it's not for sale at this time.

Not for sale at this time. So we have a property owner that doesn't want to sell it, to us and wants to lease it to us, at this time, maybe indefinitely. Who knows? If we do get an appraisal, it will cost us money. Appraisal in hand is just going to say, hey, this is how much it's worth and we negotiate from there. I mean, I don't see the value in that. I mean, I think we need to negotiate without that appraisal because if they're not going to sell, they're not going to sell it for whatever reason. They'd rather just collect rent on it from us. How much is the current rent right now that we're going to pay or the projected that they are proposing?

We're currently paying $40,000 a month and there's a 2% escalator each year of the lease.

Okay. I can see why they don't want to sell it. Let's hear from the public.

Thank you, Council Member Mai. No further requests, so let's, yes, turn to the public at this time. Mr. Peterson, how many requests are there to be heard?

Thank you, mayor. We have six requests in person and one on Zoom.

All right. Each of those will be given up to three minutes. And keep the queue open just for a few more minutes. All right?

Thank you, mayor. If I could call forward Adam Talavas, Alison Walter, Leigh Handy, Michaela Montaner, Mike Stockstill, and Mona. And we'll start with Adam.

Well, evening, Mayor, members of the council. I am Adam Thiambis. I'm the district director for vice chair Katrina Foley of the Orange County Board of Supervisors. She's very proud to represent this community on the board, and she wants to first thank the Save the University Park Coalition, the mayor, and council members for your advocacy. But also, be clear, to set the record straight, supervisor Foley has never wanted this land to be anything but a library.

Let's be very clear here. We are always here and available for open dialogue with city the mayor, city council members, the city manager, and staff. Supervisor Foley shares your commitment to protecting this vital community asset and to ensuring uninterrupted library services for Irvine residents, While supervisor Foley serves as one member of a five member board and cannot speak for the whole board, our office supports moving forward with a long term lease extension for University Park Library. Supervisor Foley stands ready to assist and help and facilitate discussions with the county if the city of Irvine formally requests to enter into negotiations regarding a long term lease extension for the property. Thank you.

Thank you for your comments. Alison, welcome.

Thank you so much. Thank you for all that you do and for the past meetings I've seen. You are very brave. Alright. My name is Allison Walter, and I live in Village Park. I've been an Irvine resident for twenty years. I have two grown sons who love Irvine, and they especially love, just like their mom, University Park Library. I'm also a founding member of the Coalition to Save University Park Library. Last week, we sent a letter to you all with three points I would like to reiterate this evening. First, we made UPL at risk of closure until a long term lease or other solution has been confirmed.

Please know that our coalition will continue to be active until such a solution is finalized. Second, we sincerely appreciate that in the staff report, deputy director Julie Zioli says maintaining uninterrupted library service at UPL remains a priority for the city and that staff will strategically plan for early engagement on potential extension discussions. We ask that staff clearly clarify with a date when they intend to approach the county to discuss a lease renewal, at least at a lower sum. Third, we strongly encourage you to make a motion in support of conducting a property appraisal, engaging a professional negotiator, and taking any other actions you and staff see fit to improve our negotiating position with respect to both the UPL buyout and lease renewal. Thank you so much for your time.

Thank you for your comments. Lee Handy. Welcome.

Thank you. Good evening. Alice and I did not coordinate, so you may hear some of the same sentiments. But I'd like to begin by saying I want to thank the mayor, the council, and the staff for addressing the issue of the future of University Park Library. An issue dear to the heart of so many of us.

That's why you keep seeing us up here week after week, and I really do appreciate the attention you've given to it. It was heartening to read in the staff report that maintaining uninterrupted library service at this location remains a priority for the city. Thank you for confirming that. I really do appreciate seeing that in the staff report. Nonetheless, continuation of the library and University Park is in jeopardy because the current lease expires in about four years.

There are at least two, and others as well, but two possible courses of action available. The city can attempt to negotiate a long term lease, or it can examine whether it's feasible to buy the property. However, there is one crucial action that in my estimation needs to occur before we enter into any negotiations with the county. We've already heard counsel speak to the issue of having an appraisal, a professional appraisal. But in my perspective, a high quality comprehensive appraisal of the value of University Park property must be done.

The appraiser should have expertise in evaluating properties for commercial uses, such as retail and offices, and for public uses, such as for a library or nonprofit because the standards for each are very different. As we all know, we are right now paying a market rate of 40,000 a month. But I believe that, and with the 2% annual increase. However, properties for public uses, which is what I believe the library is, can have nominal or below market rent which prioritizes not the profit but the benefit to the community, which is what we all care about. Appropriate standard should be applied to the University Park property.

And we need to research this before entering into any future negotiations with the county. On another subject, it's also important before we negotiate again with the county to know whether the UPL property would be subject to the surplus land act, which would require the county to prioritize affordable housing.

Thank you. Your time is up.

Why don't you just take fifteen seconds to finish your thought?

Well, the surplus land act would require the county to prioritize housing before selling land it no longer needs. If we want to buy one of the roadblocks might well be that. However, I spent some time researching that act today and there are a number of exemptions to it, including the size of the parcel, which we might fall within.

Thank you.

Again, I thank you so much.

Thank you. Thank you for your comments and your hard work on this subject. Ms. Monteneira? We never get that. Welcome.

Thank you. All right. There's so much to tell you. Yesterday, we had a really productive conversation with councilor, Vice Chair Foley and her team, including Dylan Wright, is the Director of Community Resources for Orange County. I'd be happy to speak at length about the substance of that meeting at anyone's request.

I have two minutes and thirty seconds, so there are a few points that I want to make in light of the motion before us and some of Councilmember Carol's great comments. Before I do, I do want to acknowledge Vice Chair Foley for taking the time to speak with us. And, again, Dylan Wright, they were very generous with their time and their expertise and attention to this matter is truly impressive. So I encourage all of you to avail yourselves of their their generosity of time and information. And I also want to acknowledge the effort of community members who are not typically with us in chambers.

We have a crowd of people who did not want you to think that they are not watching from home. We have we have many people, including the preschoolers who signed that We Heart UPL because they're tired of their parents talking about their library maybe not being around. Alright. Moving along. Shout out to Ali, my daughter.

I think one thing that we don't want to lose here is this appraisal needs to consider permissible uses and include some legal opinion about some statutes the county has explained to us that are justifying the use of market rent here. So, what we're hearing is that because, I'm gonna probably not get this perfectly right, but because a lot of these funds that are being used are from the state library funds, there's some rule about if they're not running the library, their counsel has advised them that it needs to be charging a market rate, and I would welcome Mr. Melching or another legal opinion on that to make sure that it's not been misinterpreted. I believe there will be a return on investment with the appraisal. The county is very confident in their valuation of, or I was, my impression is the county is very confident in their valuation of the property.

I've spoken with real estate developers of great credit who disagree with that valuation, and I wager that there's a discrepancy that we might be able to exploit in these conversations should you be team buy. And, certainly, if you're a team lease or team walk away, I don't think there's any harm in this appraisal. I think it will clarify and justify myriad of positions. I would love to hear more about what supervisor Wagner had to say about the UPL situation, should anyone like to elaborate. And I would also like to also point out that there will be public

Your time is up.

Public relation

Just take a few more seconds, if you would.

Thank you. Much the same way community input has changed the narrative from the county, or at least perceivedly, because Katrina has maintained that, or Supervisor Foley has maintained that her support in all her conversations with me. But, I will say that the, we've made great progress in terms of communicating our issues, and if we have an appraisal that clearly lays bare for the community what is up, we I can promise you I will make good use of it one way or another. So thank you very much for the time.

Thank you for your comments. Mike Stockstil. Welcome.

Mayor, council, Mike Stockstill. I live in Northwood. I'm feeling clairvoyant tonight. I came to speak about the previous issue, and let me just read my comment. I got half of it right.

I recommend that you table the plan before you, that's the foundation, and await the selection of the Irvine Library Advisory Committee this fall. At that time, give the advisory committee the assignment to explore how to stimulate the formation of an independent library foundation not connected to the city. And that's the essence of my argument that I will pass along to the appropriate staff. I am fascinated by what is happening though with the library. I guess my question is why don't we just condemn the land? Is that possible? Does the city have the condemnation power?

The county has more power.

I don't know. I'm sure Mr. Melchin could come up with a good decision. Well, I'm happy to call Katrina. I know her. I've supported her for a long time. I have to believe there is a political solution to this and it's going to be done politically not at the staff level. Katrina may not be around in four or five months. There is going to be two new supervisors as we know. So, I'll be sending comments about the foundation along. Thanks for your time.

Thank you, Mr. Stockstil. And thank you for thank you for all your good work documenting the history here that we've been a part of. So thank you. Mona.

Hi again. I want the three minutes back to the general comments because it's never enough time to say what we need to say. An appraisal at this point makes no sense. Why spend $10,000 $12,000 on an appraisal when you have a seller that doesn't want to sell? It makes absolutely zero sense. We can't do this. We have an appraisal today. Great. We spent 10,012 thousand dollars for it. Well, in a year, we're negotiating with them.

We're going to need another appraisal. So what's the purpose? There's no purpose whatsoever. The other thing that everybody seems to be talking about is if it's just the land thing. The lease is just about the land. But we are leasing more than the land, aren't we? We are also leasing equipment, what's inside. So this is not just like a real estate deal. You're just looking at a building. You walk through, it's empty.

We are actually leasing what's inside as well. So how do you want to make how do you want to do an appraisal now? Makes no sense. We're not in a place where we can do that. And every dollar that we save is important As we know from the meeting on Tuesday, we are not in a good place.

And that all of the things that you guys come up with that you want to spend towards, you have to think about where that how much it's going to cost. We've seen this over and over again. You vote you wanted ranked choice voting. Nobody checked into the price before they presented it. You are doing this over and over and over again. You keep on coming up with things. Oh, I want to do this. I want to do fireworks. 600,000. No big deal.

I want to plant flags all over Irvine for 250,000. No big deal. Those are big big amounts that are being thought about and you guys are responsible. You are responsible. You're fiduciaries.

You are the ones that are going to make these decisions. But most of the time, you're not listening to us. And we need you to listen to us and look at us when we speak, not look into your phone or your computer or whatever. You need to value your residents. I'm tired also of the fact that this, oh, I'm getting abused by the mayor. I'm getting abused blah blah blah. Not a problem. That's not happening. The abuse the one who's claiming abuse is the one who's abusing. And the caffeine, stop throwing people under the bus. Grumby, you're next.

Thank you. Your time is up.

Thank you for your comments. J. Bruce, and you have ninety seconds. Welcome, Mr. Bruce.

Hello, council members.

I just

want to say I appreciate that you weren't answering for your desire to keep University Park running. I think that's a desire shared by everyone here. But, I do think regarding this motion that councilmember Carroll, you're spot on. I mean, looking at this practice practically, the county has not been receptive to a purchase from the very start of discussions before we even operated any libraries. And, I mean, just thinking a bit practically, I mean, an appraisal, I'd be surprised if it doesn't come in at least a few million dollars, maybe like tens of millions of dollars, and I'd be surprised if the county accepts any amount less than that.

I mean, that's just money that we don't have. I mean, that's a fact that anyone knows. So, I don't think it'd really be productive to spend our efforts on that. I just don't think about purchases in the works on the county or city side in the near term. I think that rent discussions might be productive, but I think if we really want those sorts of larger decisions by the county this needs to be an issue.

I mean this is an issue I talked about before when this was discussed, but this is something that the city council should really be leading negotiations and not the city staff because when city staff are negotiating with county staff the county staff aren't just going to agree to sell off county property. This needs to be something that the city council members are communicating our desires to the supervisors for, to make sure that they have actual power in those negotiations. Thank you.

Thank you for your comments.

Our next speaker is Eric Nashanian. Mr. Nashanian, you may unmute your mic.

Thank you, Councilmembers, Mayor Agram. I just want to correct the record. Last meeting, Kathleen Crusader said that it was Larry's idea to take the libraries back from Orange County. It wasn't. It was Tammy Kim's idea.

I'm not sure if Larry voted on it, but I want to say that we're here now because there was not any forethought before this passed during the previous City Council that passed it. I don't think this was ever discussed about what it was going to cost us, but with regard to budgetary restraints as far as property maintenance and leases and that kind of stuff. So maybe this should be added to the audit also as far as what it cost us to remove ourselves from the library system. The way you're going to make the county try to sell that property is by making it look like you're going to go elsewhere. This should have been tabled or removed from the agenda.

It's a waste of your time. What you guys should really be talking about is, is there any open space that you guys can use to maybe open up a central library and at least take some control back from the county where you're not wasting resources, money and the like? That's what you guys should be talking about because that's the only way you're going make the county interested in selling to you or maybe negotiating the lease again. You guys put yourself in a dead end situation here. Maybe the Great Oak would be a great location for a central library.

But this should have gone through commission also. This should have went to the Finance Commission and the Planning Commission and those things before it came here. It was not this is not ready yet. It was not seasoned to discuss because it's a dead end. Until you make the county think that you have another option, they're not going to deal with you. They're going to

take your money. You have no leverage.

But Larry didn't this was not Larry's idea. This was Tammy Kim's idea. Who voted for it? That's what should be audited. How much is it going to cost us? That should be audited since we're doing this selected audit stuff. Thank you. And

that is all, Mr. Mayor.

Thank you, Mr. Peterson. I have three requests here. I'll start with Councilmember Carroll, then Councilmember Martinez Franco, then Councilmember Tresidar. Councilmember Carroll.

Thank you, Mayor. Just a couple of things, and maybe a friendly amendment to my colleague and Mr. Carmichael, if I could ask you, as our resident real estate expert, if I could ask you one other question as you're walking up. I just wanted to say, with regard to timing, and this is just my opinion, four years left on a five year lease, and I know it's a little bit of a disagreement with one of our speakers, but is a long time. It's four years in corporate transactional real estate speak.

That's a pretty long time to try to get a result. Second thing I want to say is I just want to clarify a little bit with our supervisor. I probably came out a little too hard there. I think that our supervisor does advocate pretty darn hard for our district, that'd be my supervisor, Supervisor Foley. And with regard to the Surplus Lands Act, that is a real land mine, a real thorny issue.

We dealt with that a lot with the Great Park real estate. Doesn't mean that the county and the city can come together in good faith on a mutual agreement to get something done a longer term. It may end up being an extension of a lease where we'd rather probably have the real estate. And again, the source of the funds that we would use to buy the real estate, of course, is a completely separate question. But really, for Mr. Carmichael oh, and I apologize for not making your event. I was moving my daughter out of her dorm. I don't know. I think some of you know that. Okay.

And that would be the 19 year old that spent her first eight years in the children's section of the library we're talking about every Saturday. So Pete, one thing that maybe if you could just educate the council, and I don't expect everybody to understand it or know it, but and this is a council initiated motion, so that's why staff's not probably recommending it. But short of them at appraisal, short of spending taxpayer dollars, we can get what's called a broker's opinion of value, what's called a BOV. It's very common, and you all don't have to take the political guy up here's experience. We can listen to the staff, our real estate a resident real estate expert.

Can you just talk a little about what would be and if you don't think this is an idea, just please no pride of recommendation, authorship anywhere, Pete. But if you think that could potentially be a solution that won't spend money where we go out to, you know, real Cushman and Wakefield, Jones Lang LaSalle, real brokers that work in our community, and get a BOV. Could you just spend a second on what that is, what that might cost? I think I know the answer. And what that would be compared to an appraisal?

Yeah, happy to. A broker opinion of value usually a less formal version of evaluation on a property. So, appraisals, as you may know, usually follow a very prescriptive set of steps and can only be performed by a licensed appraiser. Oftentimes, brokers are in the market, they see transactions, they have a very good handle on what's going on, and can give you a less formal opinion of the value of a property in usually a shorter period of time and for less cost.

Any idea around the cost of a BOV, or is that something that we can maybe get on the house, given our relationship with real estate brokers?

I think it's potential. Certainly less. I don't know off the top of my head. But sometimes, they'll do it for the relationship, future business. Sometimes, it's a set fee, but something significantly less than an appraisal.

Yeah. Okay. Great. Well, I appreciate that. Well, if I could, through the chair, to my colleague making a motion, if we could possibly consider a friendly amendment that in lieu of a professional appraisal that we seek and direct our staff to see if they can get a broker's opinion of value that would provide some support and some numbers to the community and everybody involved here. And I believe that's probably something we can get, if not for free, practically for nothing, since we do use brokers, and we have used brokers for some very extremely large real estate transactions in our city. But through the chair, if that's Why

don't I see if the maker of the motion would accept that suggestion?

Am I allowed to just make clarification before I speak to your so a few things. This is just to report back. This is not to go ahead and just get it, like just report back before you get it, right? This motion is not going to just go get the appraisal right now. But one of the things that I'm asking you this, and probably I wouldn't have asked you about the appraisal, When we met, I asked you in the presentation, please come with appraisal.

Sean told us that it was really hard to do an appraisal with real estate versus recreational. So, there's no apples to apples to compare. So, that was something that I asked you during to bring in the presentation. The other thing I ask you, that there are some council members here sitting that went through this process. They approved it.

Although a lot of them probably were close negotiations when they approve it. But I wanted the history on how did we get into this lease. And you say that you were going to provide us some history on how did we get to the lease. So, we didn't have any of those. Therefore, the motion is there. So, with those points, I don't know if you still want to do your motion. And first, I want explanation from the staff why they didn't bring back the appraisal that I asked to bring. And it was just appraisal that you guys did already.

Wait a second. Is there a question of our staff about an appraisal? I'm trying to conduct a meeting and understand what's going on here.

I made a friendly amendment.

Yes, you did. There was no response to that. At least not a direct one. Council member Martinez Franco, you're now directing a question to staff. And what is the question of staff?

That I asked them to bring an appraisal and maybe it was appraisal that was done when the negotiations happened. So, we didn't have to spend any money. And again, this motion is just to bring back in the recommendations that you're going to bring us with the appraisal including, and recommendations on acquisition or long term lease So, this is not going to be let's go buy it or let's go long term lease renewal, let's find out. Again, I know negotiations doesn't take one year or two years. And maybe there is an opening to negotiate at long term lease starting next year.

Councilmember Carroll, I'll come back to you. This is really veering off. The motion incidentally, is right in front of us, is to conduct, direct staff to conduct a professional appraisal. I just want to be clear. That's the motion. Council member Carol has made a suggestion, no, not to conduct a professional appraisal, but a broker's opinion of value that would basically be a little different from the first point in the motion. Is that correct, Mr. Caro?

Well, point of order. I haven't finished my comment here, and staff hasn't answered the question that I asked.

I'll recognize your point of order and grant you the latitude. But the discussion about what went on historically by way of an appraisal, I don't know. Go ahead if you wish to answer that. I'm, I'm not sure if it's relevance to the motion at this point.

Sure. Thank you, Councilmember Martinez Franco. I think the short answer to that is, is the previous council direction ninety days ago was, was to come back and report on the negotiations with the county in terms of the sale. And, and they told us it was not for sale. And so, what we want to do is come and report on that, as well as what we would do kind of looking into the future. I apologize if I misunderstood that direction. But, again, if this is the direction the council is looking for, then certainly I think we can work with the city manager's office to go ahead and do that.

Well, I'm consistently being told that I don't need to put a memo to put something, that I can just request the staff to do something that is not going to cost money, that I can request the staff. So this tells me that everything has to be put on memo. Everything has to be on record from now on. And therefore, I don't accept the substitute motion.

I'm sorry, what was that last point you made? Is that a no? You said

No.

All right. Let's just move on here for a moment. Councilmember Carroll, I didn't want to cut you off. If you're done, I'm going to move on to the next speaker.

Yeah. I have a few more minutes, but I'll just take less than a minute. Thank you, Mayor. I would just say, Councilmember, that if we're we may be in a more in alignment than you think. If number one is no expenditure of taxpayer dollars, then I'm happy to vote yes with you on all four items.

But number one appears to be an expenditure of taxpayer dollars, and I just think given our budget ary situation with a structural deficit and everything they were supposed to get back in ninety days, I just can't see through. I just thought a broker opinion of value, I was just using my expertise and my background to try to plug something in that could do the same exact thing. And again, I would just say the seller doesn't want to sell right now. And I think, in my humble opinion, that spending taxpayer dollars on a professional appraisal is not a wise expenditure of taxpayer dollars, especially at this time. And if we really as one of the speakers talked about the political solution, if we really do feel that four years left on the lease and I guess I could be persuaded, but I think that's all and we have a real estate expert and council member Go who could tell us.