AB 368, enacted on September 12, 2019, states the following:
SEC. 2. Section 1410 of the Military and Veterans Code is amended to read:
1410. (a) (1) Pursuant to Section 1412, the department, in voluntary cooperation with local government entities in the County of Orange, shall acquire, study, design, develop, construct, and equip a state-owned and state-operated Southern California Veterans Cemetery, which shall be located at either the site of the former Marine Corps Air Station El Toro, on 125 acres known as the Amended and Restated Development Agreement Site in the Orange County Great Park in the City of Irvine or at the approximately 100 acres known as the Golf Course Site in the Orange County Great Park in the City of Irvine, as described and adopted by the City Council of the City of Irvine at the July 23, 2019, special joint meeting.
The department shall, after completing acquisition studies on both sites, consult with the Department of General Services to determine which site to pursue based on the economic feasibility, benefits to veterans and City of Irvine residents, and availability of each location.
However, on May 12, 2020, the Irvine City Council adopted the Build the Great Park Veterans Cemetery Initiative that exclusively zoned the ARDA site at the Great Park for a State Veterans Cemetery. Nonetheless, on May 21, 2020, State Senator Archuleta requested Governor Newsom to “reconsider withdrawal of $700,000 to conduct the study of the sites in the Irvine area.” (The sites referred to are the ARDA site and a golf course site.) Those funds were reinstated and the study is still underway, scheduled to be released mid-May 2021.
Mayor Khan announced at a Council meeting and again at a public forum that she will hold a Council meeting after the State study is complete to make a decision on the location of the State Veterans Cemetery, even though City law prohibits any location other than the ARDA site.