Agenda Item
City Council
Item #: 7.1. 2/8/2022 File #: 22-0027
TO: Honorable Mayor and Members of the City Council
FROM: Thomas R. Hatch, Interim City Manager
1. SUBJECT
Support of AB 1595 Allowing the Development of a State-Operated Veterans Cemetery in Orange County. Resolution No. 11372.
2. SUMMARY
Assembly Bill 1595 will authorize a State Veterans Cemetery within the County of Orange with input and support by the local community. The bill also includes an urgency clause so the California Department of Veterans Affairs can promptly start an acquisition study of a proposed cemetery location, as required by law.
3. RECOMMENDED ACTION
1. Adopt Resolution No. 11372. A Resolution of the City Council of the City of Orange in support of AB 1595 allowing the development of a state-operated veterans cemetery in Orange County.
2. Authorize the Mayor to sign the letter of support for Assembly Bill 1595.
4. FISCAL IMPACT
None.
5. STRATEGIC PLAN GOALS
Goal 3: Enhance and promote quality of life in the community a: Renovate, maintain, develop, and/or expand public use places and spaces.
6. DISCUSSION AND BACKGROUND
Orange County is the State’slargest county without a veterans cemetery. In 2014, the California Department of Veterans Affairs (CalVet) estimated that the County of Orange was home to approximately 117,000 veterans. Yet, Orange County veterans and their families must travel to the Riverside National Cemetery in order for their service members to be interred at a final and proper resting place.
In 2014, the Legislature approved Assembly Bill (AB) 1453 to begin the process of bringing a state veterans cemetery to Orange County at the Amended and Restated Development Agreement (ARDA) site located at the decommissioned Marine Corps Air Station El Toro in the City of Irvine.
However, a lack of consensus, public opposition, and cost concerns prompted a renewed debate around the most suitable location for an Orange County Veterans Cemetery.
Each time a new site is proposed, the Legislature has to introduce a new bill to amend the current City of Orange Printed on 2/3/2022Page 1 of 2
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Item #: 7.1. 2/8/2022 File #: 22-0027
Each time a new site is proposed, the Legislature has to introduce a new bill to amend the current law. The legislative process takes a year or more. AB 1595 removes the legislative step from the process by broadly authorizing CalVet to: acquire, study, design, develop, construct, and equip a state owned and state-operated Southern California Veterans Cemetery within the County of Orange.
The Orange County Board of Supervisors has unanimously voiced their support for AB 1595 and encouraged all 34 Orange County cities to support the proposed bill. Staff recommends approving Resolution No. 11372 to express the City’ssupport for AB 1595 to facilitate the development of a veterans cemetery in Orange County.
7. ATTACHMENTS
· Resolution No. 11372
· AB 1595 Support Letter
City of Orange Printed on 2/3/2022Page 2 of 2
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