Citing redundancies in city protocols, on Tuesday, June 27, Irvine Vice Mayor Tammy Kim introduced an item calling for the dissolution of the Great Park Board of Directors. Kim argued that in the decades since its establishment, the Great Park Board of Directors has become a financial burden to taxpayers and a magnet for public confusion and controversy. 

Currently, members of the Irvine City Council serve as the Great Park Board of Directors. The board also holds its meetings on the same day as the Council, but at a separate time. In terms of compensation, each Board Member receives an annual stipend of $10,560. 

While Irvine Council Members did not vote on dissolving the board, the topic illustrated the inner complexities of a two-decade old entity with a history of public facing dilemmas. 

Kim, who currently serves on the board, added that the Great Park Board has opted for few adjustments to its operational protocol over the years, suggesting its status as a separate entity should be combined with the City Council, given the fact that many topics are discussed in both meetings.   

“The Great Park Board has had a checkered past,” she said. “The Great Park Board has outlived its usefulness and I believe it’s time that the Great Park Board be fully folded into the City Council. Because the Great Park isn’t a distant land, it’s not a separate island, it is Irvine.” 

The history of the Great Park Board can be traced back to 2003 with the development of Measure W which was created to halt more than a decade of efforts to build an international airport at the former Marine Corps Air Station El Toro in Irvine. 

Officially known as the Orange County Central Park and Nature Preserve Initiative, Measure W is closely connected to the Great Park as the measure specifically banned any airport construction at the former MCAS El Toro. 

The measure also set aside more than 1,300 acres to create the Great Park.  

After voters passed Measure W in 2002, the City of Irvine created the Orange County Great Park Corporation, as a charitable organization, under 501(c)(3) non profit distinction, as the overseeing entity to the project.  

The OCGP was officially established in 2003 and enlisted a total of nine directors. The entity was originally composed of five City Council Members, and at-large members appointed by the Council. 

However, Kim pointed to the board’s less than perfect history. 

In a memo addressed to Irvine City Manager Oliver Chi, Kim referenced historical data which  included a 2015-2016 Orange County Grand Jury report that revealed major public concerns surrounding the board’s internal operations, adding that residents were very concerned with a lack of transparency. 

The Grand Jury report also revealed that Great Park residents had become “unsatisfied” with the lack of developmental progress inside the park in the decade since the board had been established. 

The board has made only one significant alteration to its governance during its 20-year existence. In 2013, the City Council opted to drop the at-large appointments and limit the Great Park Board to only members of the City Council. 

Coming off the heels of approving more than $1 billion in funding for Great Park Development, Irvine Council Member Larry Agran said there is no reason to dismantle the board, especially now that Irvine is in the driver’s seat. 

“The fact that we have approved $800 million in development for the Great Park, and we have a phase 1, and we broke ground on the Veterans Memorial Park and Gardens — we’re making extraordinary progress,” he said. “It’s not broken, we don’t need to fix it. I don’t want a radical change at this point, we’re on a good path.”

Speaking to Irvine Weekly via text message, Kim said that she was surprised she did not receive more support for the dissolution of the Great Park Board. 

“At some point I would like to dissolve it, but it looks like no one wants to give up their stipend,” Kim wrote. “There’s no path forward right now.”

Advertising disclosure: We may receive compensation for some of the links in our stories. Thank you for supporting Irvine Weekly and our advertisers.