Group sues over park road

A group of conservationists has sued the city of Newport Beach in hopes of blocking plans to build a park access road through Banning Ranch, a large chunk of coastal open space on West Coast Highway.

In a lawsuit filed Thursday in Orange County Superior Court, the Banning Ranch Conservancy seeks to hold up plans for Sunset Ridge Park in West Newport. The group claims that plans for an access road for the park through neighboring Banning Ranch will pave the way for future development of the area.

Members also claim the city did not follow state environmental and planning laws in their approval of the project.

“Banning Ranch is a terribly important asset — it’s the last piece of open space in Orange County that hasn’t been developed — it’s what we call nature’s last stand,” said Steven Ray, executive director of the Banning Ranch Conservancy. “We’re very concerned about protecting it, preserving it and restoring it.”

Sunset Ridge, a 13.67-acre sports park, is planned for the north corner of West Coast Highway and Superior Avenue, next door to Banning Ranch.

A 28-foot-wide, two-lane access road would run north-south, cutting across Banning Ranch.

Conservationists say plans for the road match the designs of Newport Banning Ranch LLC, a consortium of three land owners that owns Banning Ranch.

The new road would be named Bluff Road.

Newport Banning Ranch LLC wants to build 1,375 homes, shops and a hotel on Banning Ranch. Bluff Road is already included in its preliminary plans for the development. The developer has agreed to give Newport Beach an easement to build the road at no cost to the city.

Legal counsel for the city of Newport Beach did not have time to review the lawsuit Friday, and could not immediately comment, said Tara Finnigan, a spokeswoman for the city.