Lawsuit over 1901 Newport project dropped by developer

Deepa Bharath

The developer of a controversial downtown condominium project on

Wednesday dropped a lawsuit against the city and a citizens’ group,

clearing the way for construction.

Rutter Development filed the lawsuit against the city and Costa

Mesa Citizens for Responsible Growth in August, alleging that a

rehearing related to the project was granted illegally without the

required presentation of new evidence.

Dave Eadie, chief executive of Rutter Development, said he

withdrew the lawsuit after the City Council on Monday, in a 3-2 vote,

approved an affordable housing agreement to build a condominium

complex at 1901 Newport Blvd.

The City Council, acting as the Redevelopment Agency, voted in

favor of the agreement, which spells out how 12 required affordable

housing units will be handled: Rutter Development will provide seven

moderate-income units, and the Redevelopment Agency will provide five

very low-income units.

“We’re going to move forward and build a project,” Eadie said on

Friday. “The project is expected to break ground in spring next

year.”

The approval of the agreement bodes well for the community, he

said.

“It will be a positive influence to help rejuvenate the community

and mark the beginning of good things happening on the Westside,”

Eadie said.

City Atty. Tom Wood said he expected the developer to drop the

lawsuit.

“It had to be dismissed after the city approved their agreement,”

he said.

The city, after approving the revised project in January, set a

deadline of when Rutter must dismiss its lawsuit. That deadline was

Thursday. If Rutter had not dismissed the lawsuit, according to the

agreement, the approval would have been void. On Monday, council

members had also voted not to extend that deadline.

Robin Leffler, who spearheaded the opposition against the project

as a member of the Costa Mesa Citizens for Responsible Growth, said

she was happy the lawsuit had been dismissed.

“We still wish the project hadn’t been approved,” she said. “It’s

still going to be overwhelmingly large. But yes, I’m glad that

lawsuit is gone.”