A lawsuit filed by the city of Irvine on Monday, Feb. 8 against the University of California Regents and UC Irvine, alleges the university unlawfully approved construction for the $1 billion UCI Medical Center Irvine-Newport project.

In documents filed with the Orange County Superior Court, obtained by Irvine Weekly, the city of Irvine’s lawsuit alleges that the UC Regents and the university approved the UCI Medical Center Irvine-Newport project without obtaining proper land use entitlements within the city of Irvine.

“In approving the Project, the Respondents unlawfully and willfully ignored the City’s land use regulations, claiming that the Project is entirely exempt from local regulation. However, as explained in more detail herein, UCI is exempt from the City’s regulation only when acting in a governmental, rather than proprietary capacity. As it is clear that the purpose of the Project is primarily proprietary, Respondents’ contention that the Project is not subject to the City’s land use regulations is incorrect as a matter of law. UCI thus may not proceed with the Project unless it first seeks and obtains appropriate entitlements from the City,” the suit’s introduction states.

The city of Irvine also expressed concerns with the project’s 2021 Subsequent Environmental Impact Report stating it “fails to make a good faith effort at fully disclosing the Project’s conflicts with applicable land use plans, policies and regulations and the resulting impacts.”

The suit also alleges that the UC Regents and UC Irvine are in violation of the California Environmental Quality Act (CEQA), “in numerous respects,” and states that the University of California system could be in violation of its own environmental mitigation strategies, known as the “Long Range Development Plan (LRDP).”

The University of California Office of the President defines the LRDP as “a comprehensive plan that guides physical development such as the location of buildings, open space, circulation, and other land uses. An LRDP identifies the physical development needed to achieve academic goals and is an important reference document for the campus, University, and the general public.”

In relation to the 2007 LRDP, the lawsuit alleges that UCI has failed to make “Fair Share” contribution payments to the city of Irvine for infrastructure improvements, “necessary to mitigate traffic impacts resulting from the development contemplated in the 2007 LRDP.”

“The City is informed and believes, and on that basis alleges that UCI has failed to make required “fair share” contributions under such measures, despite the fact that the requirement to make such contributions has been triggered under the existing mitigation measures.”

In a statement provided to Irvine Weekly, Tom Vasich, Senior Director of Communications & Media Relations University of California, Irvine, indicated that the lawsuit does not change the trajectory of the $1 billion project at this time.

“While we are unable to comment on pending legal activity, we have a good working relationship with the city of Irvine and believe we can resolve these issues quickly. The medical center project remains on track to begin serving patients next year, bringing thousands of jobs and necessary healthcare services to the city of Irvine,” the statement read.

The case will appear in court again on March 5.

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