A legal fight is playing out in Sacramento, as environmental groups are taking the city to court to stop a plan that would pave over more than 450 acres of farmland to build new warehouses near Sacramento International Airport.

The Airport South Industrial Annexation proposal would be southeast of the intersection of Powerline Road and Interstate 5 in unincorporated Sacramento. It includes a plan to annex the area within city limits. 

The project includes plans for warehouses, restaurants, and hotels. In a lawsuit, environmental groups accuse city councilmembers of unlawfully approving the project by approving the environmental impact report in December. 

"They had a chance to listen, and they had a chance to act, and they voted for the project. So, the only remedy we have, given who's currently on the City Council, is to ask a judge to intervene," said Heather Fargo, president of the Environmental Council of Sacramento (ECOS) and former mayor of Sacramento. 

ECOS is one of the environmental groups involved in the lawsuit.

Other concerns outlined in the court documents include traffic congestion, wildlife habitats destroyed and a loss of farmland, and concerns about the location near an elementary school and homes.