Agenda Report
Fullerton City Council
MEETING DATE: FEBRUARY 15, 2022
TO: CITY COUNCIL / SUCCESSOR AGENCY
SUBMITTED BY: JEFFREY W. COLLIER, ACTING CITY MANAGER
PREPARED BY: ANISSA LIVAS, ACTING SENIOR ADMINISTRATIVE ANALYST SUBJECT: LETTER OF SUPPORT FOR AB 1595 - STATE-OPERATED VETERANS CEREMONY IN ORANGE COUNTY
SUMMARY
The County of Orange has allocated over 200 acres of county-owned land located at Gypsum Canyon near the intersection of the 91 Freeway and 241 Toll Road in Anaheim Hills to honor and respect the men and women who served our country.
Assembly Member Quirk-Silva and Assembly Member Choi authored Assembly Bill (AB) 1595 to allow the California Department of Veterans Affairs (CalVet) to design, develop and construct a state-operated veterans cemetery in Orange County.
This report requests authorization for the Mayor to sign a City letter in support of AB 1595.
RECOMMENDATION
Discuss AB 1595 (Quirk-Silva and Choi).
Authorize Mayor to sign letter in support of AB 1595.
PRIORITY POLICY STATEMENT
This item matches the following Priority Policy Statements:
Fiscal and Organizational Stability.
FISCAL IMPACT
No direct fiscal impact.
DISCUSSION
The County of Orange has allocated over 200 acres of county-owned land located at Gypsum Canyon near the intersection of the 91 Freeway and 241 Toll Road in Anaheim Hills to honor and respect the men and women who served our country. Over 130,000 veterans reside in Orange County. However, the closest veteran cemeteries are in Riverside, Los Angeles, and San Diego counties.
On July 27, 2021, the Board of Supervisors unanimously approved allocating $20 million exclusively for site development of a veterans cemetery at Gypsum Canyon and adopted a resolution to move forward with planning and developing a site to honor and respect the men and women who served our great country. The Board previously allocated over 200 acres of county-owned land at Gypsum Canyon in Anaheim Hills near the intersection of the 91 Freeway and 241 Toll Road, which has been deeded to the Orange County Cemetery District (OCCD) to build a veterans cemetery.
All 34 Orange County cities have adopted resolutions supporting the Gypsum Canyon site. The City of Fullerton adopted Resolution No. 2021-067 on September 21, 2021, taking a formal position of support of this effort. In addition, a bipartisan majority of Orange County state and federal delegation members, numerous veterans organization leaders and more than 140 local elected officials all enthusiastically support a veterans cemetery at Gypsum Canyon. Legislation is still needed to amend the Military and Veterans Code in order to proceed.
AB 1595 would allow CalVet to acquire, study, design, develop, construct and equip a state-owned and state-operated Southern California Veterans Cemetery in Orange County so that we may honor the men and women who served our country.
Attachments:
Attachment 1: Resolution No. 2021-067
Attachment 2: City of Fullerton Letter of Support for AB 1595 Letter of Support for AB 1595
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