Calling For Public Participation In Irvine’s Decision Making Process
Irvine’s elections are supposed to be non-partisan. Our city councilmembers are elected to represent the best interests of Irvine residents but do they? Our city council candidates vow to represent the interests of Irvine voters if elected but will they?
The way for residents to influence the decision making process is by means of public participation in City Council and Commission meetings.
- City Council meetings are televised and recorded.
- Commission meetings are recorded.
- E-comments are distributed automatically in real-time to city councilmembers, published, and made available to the public.
Entities that do business with the city communicate extensively with city staff, attend every Commission and City Council meeting, and they communicate their interests. Members of the public can do the same!
Irvine residents who are thinking of becoming a candidate for Irvine elective offices should be attending City Council and Commission meetings and making their voices heard during public comment on city issues so that Irvine voters would come to know them and their views on local issues. Irvine voters are yearning to know more about their candidates than that which is printed on campaign literature, yard signs, and candidate websites.
We see local political party organizations working tirelessly to register voters. But perhaps they should also ask their membership, including future City Council Candidates, to attend City Council and Commission meetings and speak up on city issues.
The interests and concerns of Irvine residents are non-partisan. They are shared by all residents regardless of their party registration. Please come join us at Commission and City Council meetings, meetings with city staff members, meetings with representatives of developers, and other entities that do business with the city. The more of us that participate in Irvine’s decision making process the more we can ascertain which representatives and future candidates best represent our interests.
Join us!
3 Comments
Scott Hansen
January 8, 2020 at 9:13 amThank you, Susan. A Commissioner told me they’d love to have more residents/organizations/businesses, etc. come to the meetings and express their views. Said it helps them in decision-making.
I feel most issues in the City are not partisan. If you have a proposed solution or information or a point of view that’s valuable – city staff, the Commissions, the Council are likely to be glad to hear it, in my experience.
Gail Lewis
January 8, 2020 at 9:17 amAnother way to get involved is by signing the petitions to allow the residents to decide on the location of the Veterans Memorial Park and Cemetery. You can sign the initiative at either University Park Library or Heritage Library every Saturday and Sunday from 11am to 3pm or it you see us collecting signatures at your local shop please stop by say hi and sign. Thank you!
judithG
January 8, 2020 at 10:28 amI think too greater public notification and of upcoming agenda items. ESPECIALLY as it relates to building construction, zone change requests, General plan modifications or mitigation’s. Frankly, even interpreting agenda items takes a degree in city planning.
Current city process to post public hearings at shopping center bulletin boards, mailed to residents within 500 feet of the site and small 8.5×11 notice at the site is INSUFFICIENT. 60-90 days advanced notice is fine, but means nothing if people don’t see it.
For example, updates to retail centers in GPN or even Parkview Center in University Park. If those of us who pay attention to these current projects didn’t post in social media or via Irvine Watchdog, who would know what’s planned?
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