Task Force Plans Jamboree Village
By Sonya Smith, The Orange County Register, Calif.
Jan. 16–IRVINE — The industrial area near John Wayne Airport, where thousands of new condos, apartments and townhomes are springing up, might get a new name.
Councilman Larry Agran, who coined the Great Park, recently suggested the area now known as the Irvine Business Complex be named Jamboree Village.
The name is not official yet, but the Jamboree Village Task force is the new name of the committee assigned to plan for the future of the area. The vision for the area includes more public art, a shuttle system and a “creekwalk” — trails and parks along the San Diego Creek.
Those serving on the Jamboree Village Task Force will be Agran, Councilman Steven Choi, Planning Commission Chairwoman Mary Ann Gaido, another planning commissioner and a member of the Community Services Commission.
The reinstatement of the task force was approved 4-1, with Councilwoman Christina Shea dissenting. Shea said she didn’t object to those appointed to the task force, but she is opposed to its purpose of making the area a mixed-use village.
The Irvine Business Complex was also recently the subject of a study that shows that an environmental impact report is necessary for the area. The full environmental report could be completed by year’s end.
The environmental study was requested by business owners and city officials in Newport Beach and Tustin who said an earlier review from 1992 is outdated.
The initial study considered environmental aspects of the area and stated what needs further review. Fourteen of the 17 key environmental areas will require study, including water, traffic and population.
In the land use and planning section, the report to the city reads, “The proposed project is generally consistent with the existing mixed-use nature of the Irvine Business Complex. However, given the original industrial and commercial nature of the area, the transition to residential land uses could potentially divide the existing non-residential community.”
PUBLIC INPUT
Anyone wanting to comment or learn about the initial environmental study for the Irvine Business Complex can attend the following meetings or contact the city.
–Planning Commission: 5:30 p.m. Feb. 1 at Irvine City Hall, at the corner of Alton Parkway and Harvard Avenue.
–Community Services Commission: 6:30 p.m. Feb. 21 at City Hall.
–City Council: 4 p.m. Feb. 27 at City Hall.
–Send comments on the initial study to: Bill Jacobs, principal planner, city of Irvine. P.O. Box 19575, 92623-9575. E-mail: bjacobs@ci.irvine.ca.us. Phone: 949-724-6521. Fax: 949-724-6440.
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