Marine Base at El Toro, Now Irvine’s Great (Controversial) Park

It seems Alameda Point isn’t alone in its redevelopment controversy. In Irvine, the former Marine Base redevelopment at El Toro has been just as rocky. Irvine has commissioned a board of directors for redevelopment, consisting of all five City Council members along with four public at-large members appointed by the board majority. For open government’s sake, a board of directors comprised of public members and municipal legislators sounds like a great idea.


Think again. The project is littered with accusations of pay to play, and corruption in every sense of the word. One Irvine ex-councilman even called it “legalized corruption.”

In true East Bay fashion, Irvine government officials engaged behind closed door policies and accepted money from Great Park contractors. This most likely led to a zoning change that allows for new Great Park “amenities”, i.e. restaurants and retail space.

However, I do have to end on this final note.

The Great Park will be one of the largest metropolitan parks created in the United States in the past 100 years. Estimated to cost $1.4 billion at completion, the park is also one of the largest public/private sustainable projects underway in the U. S. At 1,347 acres (5.45 km2), the Great Park will be larger than New York’s Central Park, San Francisco’s Golden Gate Park and San Diego’s Balboa Park.

Hmmmm… does the end justify the means?

Here is the end: http://www.ocgp.org/