Ballot Measure on Irvine Co.’s Village 38 Project Finds a City Divided

Am I confused. After listening to numerous Irvine City Council debates and the city manager’s presentation and after reading the sample ballot, I don’t know what my vote on Measure C, the open space advisory vote, means.

I’m all for open space. In fact, I want to see even more of it in our city than that provided for in the Open Space Agreement, but I think the agreement is a great beginning.

What confuses me is what a yes on Measure C means and what a no means. If I vote yes on Measure C, does that mean that I think the City Council should approve any development project brought forward by the Irvine Co. that meets bare minimum standards? Or does a yes vote mean that I want my City Council to give the highest scrutiny to every plan that comes before it linked to the Open Space Agreement and make sure that each plan provides real benefits to current and future residents without significant ill effects?

And what would a no vote mean? I could vote no thinking that what we really need is more open space than provided for in the agreement. Or would it be interpreted as we should let the Irvine Co. run amok?

I really don’t think the City Council should accept any old plan the Irvine Co. throws at the city. I want open space and I want to maintain the highest quality of life in the city. If that means the council has to reject 10 plans before they accept a good one, so be it.

LAURA MALAKOFF

Irvine