The Irvine City Council will hold a closed session special city council meeting on Thursday, Dec. 15, regarding the city’s ongoing litigation with the All American Asphalt facility. The closed session item will be the council’s most recent meeting regarding the city’s relocation efforts against the facility since October. 

While it is unclear what the council will discuss, court records obtained by Irvine Weekly indicate that the city’s lawsuit against the asphalt manufacturing facility is heading to a jury trial next year. 

Set for May 15, the case will be held in Orange County Superior Court. The case stems from the City Of Irvine’s 2020 public nuisance lawsuit against the facility over continuous odor complaints and odor violations.   

In October, the council agreed to sideline its All American Asphalt litigation discussions until the city obtained a third party counsel, which Irvine City Manager Oliver Chi anticipated Irvine would secure by December. 

In terms of actions the city can take against the facility — which collected three odor violations in 2022 and has been the subject of more than 1,400 odor complaints since 2019 — Irvine’s actions are limited. 

One option is for the relocation of the facility, at an estimated cost of $50-$100 million, given the facility has permits to operate as a business. 

The alternative to relocation is condemnation — a process that would result in a quicker timeline of the facility’s removal from Irvine, but is expected to cost the city an excess of $100 million, according to Chi. 

In a text message to Irvine Weekly on Dec. 15, Chi confirmed the public nuisance lawsuit was slated to be heard in May. 

“The court case is related to the public nuisance case, and it’s currently slated to be heard in May 2023. Lots to work through the next few months, and that will determine if we move forward with the trial at that time,” Chi wrote.  

This is a developing story.

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