Newport Beach : Group Files Suit Over Plans for Office Tower

An environmentalist group, concerned about traffic congestion around John Wayne Airport, filed suit Wednesday challenging the city’s approval of a nine-story office tower.

The lawsuit was filed in Orange County Superior Court by Stop Polluting Our Newport (SPON), one of the citizens’ groups that helped block the Irvine Co.’s plans to expand Newport Center last year.

The court action came less than a week after SPON announced an initiative campaign designed to limit new construction in Newport Beach and force the city to update its general plan.

The Newport Beach City Council on March 9 approved McLachlan Investment Co.’s plan to build the 209,000-square-foot office tower at the intersection of Newport Place and MacArthur Boulevard. The new building would be nearly double the size permitted under city zoning laws but was granted a variance.

SPON president Jean H. Watt said the council’s action was “precedent-setting for the Newport Beach airport area.� By allowing McLachlan to build more than twice as much floor space as is usually allowed, other developers probably will seek similar increases, which would result in severe traffic congestion, Watt said.

A two-story, 20,000-square-foot bank building would be torn down to make room for the McLachlan tower.

The lawsuit claimed that 20 intersections in the airport area are already at, or near, capacity. The suit alleges that the Newport Beach City Council violated state law by failing to assess adequately the impact of the McLachlan building on traffic.

Efforts to reach lawyers for the city were unsuccessful Wednesday.