Councilmember Agran Keeps All American Asphalt on Irvine City Council Agenda
Councilmember Larry Agran led the Irvine City Council to remain actively involved in the process of removing All American Asphalt’s plant from the City.
Aerial map of North Irvine, with All American Asphalt (“AAA”) and neighboring landmarks identified.
The City, while pursuing litigation, has been negotiating a settlement agreement with All American Asphalt, currently emitting benzene and other cancer-causing pollutants in North Irvine. Staff briefed the Council that, within 60-90 days, AAA may be required to relocate and the City, potentially with the Irvine Company’s help, could be responsible for paying the plant’s relocation costs.
Concurrently, the City is in the process of hiring independent special counsel to assist with the negotiations and pursue “preliminary and permanent abatement,” meaning an end to toxic emissions from All American Asphalt.
Councilmember Agran also advocated that the City take possession of the plant via legal “condemnation” and reuse the land for public projects. He argued that AAA’s property should be repurposed for important public uses, including:
Improving and extending Jeffrey Road for transportation and wildfire evacuation via State Route 241,
Creating a conference and training center to open a gateway to Irvine’s northern open space, and
Using the site to detect, prevent, and control wildfires.
Condemnation, though potentially costlier than a settlement, could lead to a speedier removal of the plant from the City. It involves the following steps:
The City would inspect, then appraise the property.
The City would offer a payment of “just compensation” to All American Asphalt for whatever the appraised value is.
The City would attempt to negotiate acquisition of the property.
Should the negotiations fail, the City Council can declare that the property is needed anyway (called a “Resolution of Necessity”) and pay however much a court values the property and the payment amount.
After discussion, the City Council moved to review condemnation as a strategy during the September 27 City Council meeting. Implicitly, City staff are expected to present a settlement agreement so the Council can reevaluate its options. Councilmember Agran will advocate for the options that most quickly and effectively remove All American Asphalt from the City of Irvine.