Foes of Project Find It Grading on Their Nerves

The earth has begun to move at One South Coast Place in Costa Mesa, despite a lawsuit by a group of residents who are trying to stop it.

C. J. Segerstrom & Sons has begun preliminary grading on the 16-acre site where two office towers--20 stories and 12 stories tall--a child care center, a parking structure and a 50,000-square-foot pavilion are planned.

The city issued foundation permits for both towers Friday, and three large earthmoving machines were noisily at work removing the top layer of soil, according to a workman at the site located just east of Harbor Boulevard, between the San Diego Freeway and South Coast Drive.

Members of Costa Mesa Residents for Responsible Growth, which filed the lawsuit last week in Orange County Superior Court challenging the city’s approval of the project, said they noticed the earthmoving operations on Monday and are trying to decide what to do about it.

“We don’t know what our strategy is going to be yet,” said Terry Watt, a San Francisco-based urban planner aiding the group. “We’re considering all our options.”

Those options, according to Watt, include requesting a temporary restraining order and preliminary injunction barring the city from issuing building permits for the project or just “waiting it out and hope they don’t get too far before the hearings” that are already scheduled in the case.

Diane Goldberger, treasurer for the group, said members were frustrated that work had already begun. She said she expects a decision on what do to next will be reached next week.

The lawsuit alleges that the project “is likely to result in gridlocked streets and a general deterioration of the quality of life in Costa Mesa.”

The group is asking that the city reassess the environmental impact of the project and consider alternatives with fewer adverse effects.

Letty Belin, attorney for the group, said a new environmental impact study “might mean an entirely different type of project for this property. But the more work they do, the more it’s committed, and it becomes less likely that they would order it torn down as a practical matter.”

Belin said developers generally hold off on construction once a lawsuit is filed, since they risk having permits for their projects revoked. “But my understanding is they have a tenant who’s interested in them proceeding and they don’t want to lose that relationship,” she said.

The project’s major tenant will be the regional headquarters of International Business Machines Corp., according to Segerstrom officials.

Segerstrom executive Malcolm Ross said the company has no current plans to slow construction because of the pending lawsuit: “I don’t think we want to comment further other than to say we’re proceeding at the moment.”

The company obtained a permit for rough grading Friday morning, according to city officials, who said site clearance done earlier in the week required no permit, as long as excavations went no deeper than 18 inches.

Don Lamm, city director of development services, said the city is required by law to issue building permits to the company as requested, unless ordered to stop by a judge.