But will there be enough water for One Paseo?

Three community groups today (April 8) filed a writ of mandate in Superior Court to overturn the city council's March approval of the massive One Paseo development project and the council's certification of the environmental impact report. It is to be a 1.4-million-square-foot mix of condos, retail outlets, and offices located in Carmel Valley.

The groups filing the writ are the Alliance for Responsible Development, the East Bluff Community Association, and Mitigate One Paseo. The writ complains that the environmental impact report was flawed in many respects. Among other things, improper assumptions were made to reduce the severity of impacts on surrounding communities, charge the groups.

The writ hits hard on a hot topic: water. "The water supply assessment that is contained in the EIR was inadequate and it was not revised, despite numerous specific comments that it needed to be modified to more specifically identify the anticipated sources of an adequate water supply and any environmental impacts from obtaining these supplies," says the writ.

"Our state is facing an historic drought of Biblical proportions. It is clear that the necessary water infrastructure does not exist to cope with fantasies of unlimited growth," says William Bibb, president of the Alliance for Responsible Development.

The writ also says the EIR failed to properly address such topics as air quality, greenhouse gases, and community character.