CARLSBAD — The nonprofit North County Advocates filed a lawsuit Wednesday in Superior Court alleging Carlsbad has failed to comply with its Growth Management Plan that requires 40 percent of the city be set aside as parks and open space.

Carlsbad has 40 parks and more than 50 miles of trails, according to the city’s website. However, not all those facilities can be counted as open space, and the city falls short by about 2 percent of the required total, according to the lawsuit. That small percentage equals more than 525 acres of missing park space.

“We believe it is critical to address this shortfall now, before all of the land is developed,” North County Advocates President Howard Krausz said in a news release.

Voters established the 40 percent requirement in 1986 with the passage of Proposition E and approval of the city’s Growth Management Plan.

“The City is currently not in compliance with a number of the GMP performance standards including those for open space, parks, and traffic circulation,“ the group’s attorney Everett DeLano said in the news release. “Proposition E was passed by the voters to ensure that all areas of the city would have access to open space and parks, and that sensitive lands would be protected.”

The Bressi Ranch, Quarry Creek and Robertson Ranch residential developments all were approved by the city with insufficient land set aside as open space, the lawsuit alleges.

“The city doesn’t comment on litigation,” Carlsbad City Manager Scott Chadwick said Wednesday by email. “We haven’t been served with this lawsuit yet, but stand ready to address its claims through the legal process.”

The nonprofit asked the court to issue a restraining order or an injunction to prevent the city from approving any further development until it complies with Prop. E and the Growth Management Plan.

Prop. M also set standards for the city’s traffic circulation, schools, parks libraries and recreational amenities.

Residents formed North County Advocates more than 10 years ago to successfully fight a “big box” store proposed for La Costa. Since then, the group has taken on a number of environmental and development issues in Carlsbad and Encinitas.

The group filed a lawsuit in 2015 challenging Carlsbad’s approval of Poinsettia 61, a 123-home development on Poinsettia Lane. The settlement of that lawsuit required the city to create a new neighborhood park on the site of the former Buena Vista Reservoir in Olde Carlsbad.

At one time, as many as 14 homes were planned for the reservoir property.

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