SAN FRANCISCO (CN) - Organizers in San Francisco announced a lawsuit on Tuesday, challenging the legality of the city's Great Highway's shutdown and conversion to an oceanfront park. Opponents of Proposition K, which was passed by voters in November, held a press conference on a street corner in the Outer Sunset District, where they told reporters about their plan to fight the city's plans in court.

"We're not anti-parks. What we are is we're anti-putting the cart way before the horse," said Richard Correa, a community activist with the "No on K" campaign.

However, supporters of the Great Highway's conversion call the lawsuit "baseless" and an attempt to subvert a democratically passed measure.

"The obstructionists are not worried about some law. What they're worried about is that the people of San Francisco disagree with them," Lucas Lux, president of Friends of Ocean Beach Park, told reporters. "The people voted, and the people voted for a park."

In the lawsuit, filed the same day in San Francisco Superior Court, organizers accuse the city of San Francisco of violating the California Environmental Quality Act and overreaching in its power over the roadway, which the plaintiffs claim belongs in the state's jurisdiction.

The plaintiffs are seeking a declaration that the proposition is legally invalid, as well as an injunction that prevents it from being enforced.

Correa described the lawsuit as "narrow in scope" and said his organization isn't looking for a long, drawn-out legal battle.

"That's essentially how simple this case is. The state law did not grant the authority to close this road," Correa said.

The "No on K" campaign is heavily tied to efforts to recall Joel Engardio, one of four San Francisco supervisors who introduced legislation to shut down the highway in July 2024.

At the press conference, spirited "No on K" demonstrators held signs that read "Keep the Great Highway open" and "Recall Engardio." The crowd cheered as their speakers took the podium.

"We want our great highway back. And if everyone says, 'Oh, we love that park.' Well, gosh darn it. We've got Colvin Gate Park. We've got Harding. We've got the zoo and Ocean Beach!" Albert Chow, a local business owner and plaintiff in the lawsuit, said to a cheering crowd.

The demonstrators are mostly residents of west San Francisco, and many are from the Sunset District, where the Great Highway is located.

The tone of the press conference was provocative and, at times, aggressive.

"A bike slut! We got a bike slut over there!" called out one "No on K" protestor after the press conference in response to the driver of a black Subaru, who drove by displaying a "thumbs down" from his window.

One "No on K" protestor followed a Courthouse News reporter to multiple locations and talked over the reporter's recording device to prevent an interview with Lux.

Some of the more moderate speakers lamented that the city has taken an extreme approach to a compromise that already worked for most residents.

"While a small fraction wanted to see it fully closed and some fully opened, for the most part, the compromise enjoyed a broad consensus," Matthew Boschetto, a local business owner and plaintiff in the lawsuit, told the crowd.

During the pandemic, the road was shut down in a pilot program for the car-free promenade, allowing people to bike, skateboard, exercise, walk, and listen to live music from performers along the highway. Once lockdown restrictions eased, the city agreed to keep it open to cars on weekdays, while the area became pedestrians-only on weekends.

Boschetto added that this lawsuit is their only chance to "right that wrong" and ensure a "just and due process" for opponents of the highway closure.

San Francisco's most divisive race last November wasn't about its mayor or the district attorney - it was about a two-mile stretch of highway on the west side of town.

Voters in November passed Proposition K, perhaps the most fought-over item on the city's ballot this year. The measure will convert a sizable part of the city's Great Highway into a public open recreation space, permanently closing it to private motor vehicles seven days a week.

At the ballot box, the results were closer than the city's race for mayor. In the end, "Yes" supporters won the vote with 54% to "No" voters' 46%.

Early voting returns also showed a geographic divide, with precincts on the west and south sides of the city - where residents say they rely heavily on the highway - opposed to the measure and voters on the east side mostly for it.

Supporters say the measure will provide more outdoor recreation space, which could one day become a park.

The highway officially closed to vehicle traffic in early March 2025.

Source: Courthouse News Service