FULLERTON, CA—Full-time classroom teacher and 65th Assembly District candidate Sharon Quirk-Silva today challenged developer FivePoint to provide more details on its proposed land swap to meet the commitment under state law she authored to find an appropriate location for a veteran’s cemetery that serves the needs of Orange County.
FivePoint recently announced an offer to trade land previously identified for the cemetery north of the Great Park at the former El Toro Naval Base for land owned by the company to the south. Quirk-Silva expressed her disappointment that FivePoint’s offer comes only now, after much time and taxpayer money has been expended.
“The men and women who gave the ultimate sacrifice for this nation deserve proper recognition without further delay; and, the taxpayers of Orange County need to know they will not be asked to foot the bill for big land developers,” said Quirk-Silva. “I urge all parties to proceed with these two goals in mind.”
AB 1453 which was adopted and signed by the Governor in 2014 recognized the northern site as the only viable option at the time for this long-overdue project. Quirk-Silva called on FivePoint to put a detailed offer in writing immediately if they believe they can offer an alternative location.
Quirk-Silva added, “Members of the public deserve the right to review FivePoint’s proposal and ask questions. This is the only way the community can have confidence decisions are being made based on their best interests of all, and not to enrich the pocketbooks of a few.”
Our vets are much better served with this new plan.
After much time the 125 acre site, according to our Veterans, is proving to have too costly an overhead to clean up and develop. Could be years and years before the cemetery can break ground on this site.
This is why these new talks began and Fivepoints has generously offered to cover the cost of a new State review of this new land they are offering. I believe our interest in the long term is for what can facilitate an OC Veterans cemetery and that which can be built as quickly as,possible. if this land swap can occur, Mr Haddad has guaranteed to grade, grass and build the first phase starting in 2017. This politcal push back serves no one but those looking to use this issue for their elecetion purposes, that is what our residents should be aware of…. We will discuss the full proposal at our City Council meeting April 12 th as the letter of intent is being worked on presently. So many folks are excited about this potential offer so let’s all find time to look to a hopeful and positive outcome and not stir the pot with this continual negativity, wouldn’t that be refreshing?
FivePoint and Emile Haddad are much better served under the new plan. Do you ever do anything but find ways to line his pocket?
So how much will FivePoint make on this swap?
Great question Daniel. Perhaps Ms. Shea can answer that too
God only knows how much the developer will make. It is in the millions and millions. The Veterans get nothing, and nothing. In fact, the Vets get a restricted parcel that cannot be used for burials.
I hope everyone makes out like a bandit out of this swap. The veterans get a much more accessible piece of land for their cemetery and save a ton on clean up cost that would have thwarted the entire project. Five Point makes a bundle on selling homes to buyers that love the Great Park. Residents love living in their homes and the brand new high school. Property value goes up and the city and county collect more tax to fund local initiatives. The politicians in office get credit for making residents priorities their own.
I guess the only ones left in lurch seems to be those who has something to gain by derailing this win-win deal for their own gain.
are you getting a “success fee” for pulling this together Ms. Shea? Is Emile lining your pockets? Because you repeatedly remind us all you’re “not a wealthy woman with a husband.”
Not Wealthy? Kia has been more than generous and so has the Taxpayer, lining her pockets with lobbying fees and a stipend that two council members (Lalloway & Schott) have agreed to not take, because they felt that they were fleecing the taxpayers from a a redundant GPB.
Actually, I agree with you.
I full support this move. Rarely do I see true win-win. This is truly one of those times. The veterans will get a prized piece of land that has easy access to the freeway that does not require expensive cleanup. Five Point will do fine without the cemetery impacting the sales of their homes. Most importantly, the thousands of nearby residents concerned about the cemetery next to their home and high school can rest easy. When a deal this good comes along we should take a victory lap and take it before they have second thoughts.
I don’t understand your twisted mind and ill will, Larry and Dan. Maybe it is your political agenda that makes you purposely against this great win-win plan put together by the city, five point and the vets. The fact is how much five point will make is irrelevant, The most important thing is the Vet will get a better location for their resting place, and Bill Cook is fully on board. The Irvine residents are happier with their homes and parks. Everyone is happy except you guys. Do you really want the Vet has a good resting place? Or do you just want to make waves for your own hidden political agenda. There is a reason you are no longer the city council member, Larry. Whatever wave you make, you will not be elected again!
Uh, “Larry” is not Larry Agran who has commented on this blog once. How much FivePoint will make is completely relevant. If you look at the potential profit Haddad stands to make, it far exceeds the $200 million Shea says was wasted on the Park. But when she’s trying to enrich her friends, it’s a-ok, right?
200 million was wasted, that’s a fact. The great park didn’t have anything until 5P came in to build the homes and communities. 5P as a business making money out of developing homes has no similarities to the money Larry Agran wasted. I’m not sure where you the connection. At least 5P is developing the park and community! Why can’t you see the goodness of this deal for all parties involved ? Bill Cook is ok with 5P making profit with this deal, why are you not ok? Do you just not want to see people making money? Our vets want their cemetery built in Irvine, faster, and that’s what they will get from this deal. Bill sees that and that’s why he agreed to the deal. Exactly what is your real issue?
all $200 million was wasted? That’s a false narrative. What specifically was wasted? The PR contract is an easy target but the PR team brought in the Solar Decathalon which more than paid for every dollar spent in addition to everything else the PR team did for the Great Park.
What you’re forgetting is there is already legislation about the spot of the original cemetery; once you start swapping things around, it raises red flags in government circles. I’m afraid Mr. Cook will wind up with no cemetery and Mr. Haddad will line his pocked with millions more.
I commend Christina Shea, Bill Cook, and Five Point for their courage to work with us, the Irvine residents, to find a win-win solutions for the veterans and the residents. The veteran’s cemetery will be there for thousands of years, and we have to do it right. The new location is much better than the old location for all parties involved: Veterans do not have to spend a lot of money to do the demolition, and the new location is close to the intersection of the 5 and 405 freeway. It can be a very visible landmark for Irvine, and remind all of us the great contribution of the veterans.
It is away from the new Portola High School and the homes, and Irvine residents love the new location.
I talked to many Irvine residents about this. Everyone I talked to LOVE this new location. One of them said: “This is not just good for the residents near the old location, but good for the entire City of Irvine.”
This is like a great puzzle, and now all the pieces have finally come together.
Dan and Larry,
If you really care about the veterans, why are you against the new location? It is much better than the old one for all parties involved. You should do the right thing and support the new location.
Sharon Quirk-Silva,
Thank you for trying to help the veterans, however, your old location is not as good as the new old. If you really care about the veterans, please leave them alone and let them work with Irvine residents to finish this win-win solution. You are NOT an elected official in Irvine, and you do NOT even live in Irvine, please keep your finger off the specific Irvine issues. You are NOT in the position to tell Irvine people what to do. If you love Irvine so much, you can move to Irvine, and I am sure some of us will show you around. Before that, again, please keep your finger off the specific Irvine issues. Thank you.