Two lawsuits were filed in San Diego Superior Court Wednesday in a bid to halt a major development slated for Carmel Valley.
Both lawsuits, one filed by the owner of a retail center across the street from the site of the project and the other on behalf of three community groups, allege faulty environmental reports for the One Paseo project.
Donahue Schriber, the owner of Del Mar Highlands Town Center, named the city of San Diego and Kilroy Realty Corp. as defendants. Kilroy is the 23.6- acre project's developer.
The company has been a leading opponent of the development — which would include 10 buildings, more than 600 housing units, shops, restaurants, office space and a movie theater on what is now vacant land along Del Mar Heights Road between El Camino Real and High Bluff Drive.
Opponents contend the project is far denser than allowed in the neighborhood's zoning plan and will greatly increase traffic in a part of town that's already congested.
"Unfortunately, frivolous lawsuits like this have become standard for any significant project in California," said Rachel Laing, a spokeswoman for Kilroy. "One Paseo underwent extraordinarily careful analysis, and we're completely confident that the city's extremely thorough environmental impact report on the project will withstand the court's scrutiny."
Elizabeth Schreiber, vice president of operations and development for Donahue Schriber, said they've been voicing their concerns about the project for six years.
"We have repeatedly documented our concerns regarding the traffic that will be generated by the project and the significant impact its size and scale will have on the surrounding community," Schreiber said. "At our own expense, we commissioned independent analyses documenting the significant and unmitigable impacts of One Paseo."
She accused Kilroy of being unwilling to address the community's concerns.
The other lawsuit was filed on half of the Alliance for Responsible Development, the East Bluff Community Association, and Mitigate One Paseo.
Opponents of the project have also filed about 60,000 petition signatures in an effort to get City Council approval of the project overturned. County elections officials have about two more weeks to find that slightly over 34,000 signatures are valid. If that happens, the City Council will have to rescind its approval or put the issue to voters.
Supporters of the project said it has been significantly scaled down. The plans also call for "smart" traffic signals along nearby roads that will manage traffic flow.
