The Irvine City Council is scheduled to discuss a proposed program to map and disclose hazardous material sites across the city at its 4 p.m. meeting on Tuesday. The proposal aims to update the city's approach to facilities managing potentially dangerous substances, including expanded public notification requirements and new entitlement processes.
This initiative follows recent regional incidents, including a May evacuation of over 50,000 residents in Garden Grove due to a chemical tank nearly exploding, and a separate event in La Habra involving a chemical cloud. In June, Irvine City Council members directed staff to compile a preliminary inventory of facilities within city limits that handle acutely hazardous materials.
City staff’s preliminary inventory identified over 1,100 businesses in Irvine registered with the county for their use of hazardous materials. From this group, staff noted that only seven facilities meet the criteria for the California Accidental Release Prevention (CalARP) program. The CalARP program specifically addresses "acutely hazardous materials above State thresholds" and requires owners or operators that "handle, manufacture, use, or store a regulated substance above a chemical-specific threshold quantity" to file a Risk Management Plan (RMP) with the county health care agency.
According to city staff, these thresholds include hazardous materials exceeding 55 gallons of liquid, 500 pounds of solids, or 200 cubic feet of gas. Facilities that meet these criteria are subject to stricter regulatory oversight due to the potential for significant off-site consequences in the event of an accidental release.
Under the city’s current Zoning Ordinance, only two specific areas within Irvine mandate notification to property owners and tenants within a one-quarter-mile radius of a use requiring an RMP: a medical and science zoning district in the Walnut neighborhood and research and development companies in the Northwood neighborhood. Staff highlighted these limitations in the existing ordinance.
To address this, city staff are proposing a series of updates. A key recommendation is to require all facilities that handle hazardous chemicals and require an RMP to obtain a Conditional Use Permit (CUP) from the Planning Commission. This new requirement would introduce a discretionary review process, allowing the Planning Commission to evaluate a proposed use's compatibility with surrounding land uses and its consistency with public health, safety, and welfare.
Furthermore, staff propose expanding public notification for RMP-requiring sites. The new rule would mandate that anyone residing within a one-quarter-mile radius of such a facility receive a notice. Staff stated that by expanding the typical public notification radius from 500 feet to one-quarter mile and requiring a CUP, the proposed "zoning text amendment enhances public transparency" and provides the Planning Commission with "discretionary authority to evaluate compatibility."
In addition to the new oversight and notification measures, city staff also recommend removing some of Irvine’s older, outdated rules concerning hazardous chemicals and compounds. This streamlining effort aims to defer primary regulatory authority to the county Health Care Agency and the Orange County Fire Authority, which have been responsible for these functions since 1997.
Councilmembers Mike Carroll and Melinda Liu have both expressed support for the proposed changes. Councilmember Liu noted that the proposal "will allow comprehensive planning and reduce response time." Councilmember Carroll emphasized public safety, stating, "We have to be ready before an emergency happens, not after." Mayor Larry Agran and Councilwoman Kathleen Treseder declined to comment on the proposal, and other council members did not respond to requests for comment.
The Irvine City Council's discussion on Tuesday evening will determine the next steps for these proposed amendments to the city's hazardous materials standards.
