NEWPORT BEACH : Club Says It Didn’t Get a Fair Hearing

About three months after the city turned down the Balboa Bay Club’s ambitious expansion plan, the council on Monday rejected a claim filed by the club that alleges the city failed to give the $60-million project a fair hearing.

The council’s unanimous vote came without comment Monday, but members met in closed session after the meeting to discuss the possibility that the private club would file a lawsuit.

A claim against the city must be submitted before a lawsuit can be filed. The club now has until Nov. 19 to decide whether to file suit.

“I’m thinking that’s the only reason they’re filing, and they won’t proceed (with a lawsuit) if there is progress with the development plan,” City Manager Robert L. Wynn said. “Basically, they’re saying: ‘Let’s get going on those discussions.’ ”

Wynn said that city officials may meet with club representatives to try to find an acceptable development proposal, but he added that “there’s probably a number of alternative ways to resolve the problem.”

Wynn was referring to the council’s suggestions after the July public hearing that the club consider the community’s opinions on the development plan and seek council approval of a scaled-back proposal more in line with the wishes of residents.

The claim, filed last week, says that the council’s July decision amounts to a breach of the city’s 1986 lease agreement with the club that calls for the city to “cooperate and work together” with the club on its development plans. The club leases its property from the city.

Club officials and members of the city panel that deal with the Bay Club have not met since June, one month before the bayside development plan was rejected.

The development proposal would have added a 300-room, high-rise hotel containing a bar and a ballroom to accommodate 450 people. The plan drew opposition from homeowners and environmental groups.

Homeowners argued that the big buildings may interfere with their coveted bay and ocean views, and said they were also worried about traffic, noise, congestion and pollution from visitors to the facility.

Additionally, environmentalists and some in the community questioned the idea of continuing to allow an expensive, private club to operate on city land that had been initially given to Newport Beach for park space.