City Grants Easement to Toll-Road Agency

A showdown between the city and the Transportation Corridor Agencies ended Tuesday night with the City Council granting an easement needed to incorporate part of Newport Coast Drive into the San Joaquin Hills toll road.

Opponents of toll booths on Newport Coast Drive said the council’s action will prompt the building of a toll-free bypass, a prospect strongly opposed by residents of south Irvine.

Without tollbooths on Newport Coast Drive, opponents argued, there would be no need for construction of the $10.5-million bypass, which residents fear will bring thousands of commuters daily into their neighborhoods.

Turtle Rock resident Bruce Gary told council members that the easement agreement is “clearly paving the way for construction of the Newport Coast Drive bypass.”

Council members have previously refused to grant the county permission to build the bypass, but the issue is expected to return to the council in March.

A corridor agency lawyer warned that if the council refused to grant the easement, the city could be held liable for a late fee of $225,000 a day if the opening of the toll road were delayed.

Costa Mesa attorney Jim Toledano, who filed the lawsuit against the corridor agency on behalf of a group of Newport Beach residents who want to keep Newport Coast Drive toll-free, called the corridor agency warning “manufactured urgency.”

Toledano, chairman of the county Democratic Party, asked council members to wait until the lawsuit is resolved.

Councilwoman Paula Werner cast the only vote against granting the easement, saying the council had previously indicated an interest in seeing the lawsuit resolved before a decision was made.