Opponents of a golf course proposal in New Orleans City Park have filed a federal lawsuit seeking to halt construction of the multi-million-dollar complex. The lawsuit, filed Thursday morning (March 26, 2015) by the group City Park for Everyone Coalition and members Kevin McDunn and Christopher Lane, claims the New Orleans City Park Improvement Association and Federal Emergency Management Agency violated state and federal laws by failing to properly assess the impacts of a construction project that will destroy "unique and rare" undeveloped wetlands on the park's grounds.

"New Orleans City Park Improvement Association is determined to dedicate over 40 percent of City Park to golf -- something it admits is not particularly profitable in light of the large operating budget City Park has every year," the lawsuit says. "It is so intent on adding an additional golf course, that it may have distorted information and led FEMA to improper conclusions with respect to the appropriateness of building a golf course from an environmental standpoint."

City Park officials say the championship golf course and complex have been in the works since Hurricane Katrina's floodwaters destroyed the former City Park East and West courses. The project, they said in an earlier statement, has gone through nearly a decade of public discussion, debate and amendments.

"The City Park golf project was thoroughly reviewed by FEMA and was authorized to proceed through a Finding of No Significant Impact," City Park officials said in an emailed statement. "The Corps of Engineers and the State issued all the necessary permits and authorizations to move forward with the project. The State has a signed contract in place to build the course, and the contractor is doing the work presently.

"We believe the suit is without merit and will be aggressively defended."

The planned course and complex, however, have drawn public protest. Most recently, Jonathan "Lloyd" Boover spent nearly 12 days camped out in a tree inside the construction zone. His tree sit-in, which drew national attention, ended Tuesday when he fell from his perch and was taken by stretcher to a waiting ambulance.

Boover was booked into Orleans Parish Jail on charges of criminal trespassing and resisting-obstructing an officer, said Orleans Parish Sheriff's spokesman Philip Stelly. He was released that same day, and is scheduled to appear in court in April. The tree has since been cut down, the coalition said.

The coalition's lawsuit claims more than 5,700 people have signed a petition opposing the project, and "over a thousand people have joined a Web page devoted to promoting the merits of this space for nature photography, walking and bicycling in non-urban surroundings, fishing, picnicking, kite flying, dog walking, and a variety of other activities for which they feel that no comparable local setting exists."

According to the lawsuit, FEMA failed to take into account the 5.5 acres of urban wetlands and forest that will be destroyed by the golf complex -- a violation of the National Environmental Protection Act and Administrative Procedures Act. And City Park officials, the lawsuit claims, never received the required permit to fill a portion of the area's wooded wetlands.

"Recreational users of the area ... and educational users of the area will be entirely prohibited from exercising their interests in the area," the lawsuit claims. "The habitat value of the land will be vastly diminished once converted into a golf course. Moreover, minority and low income populations will be disproportionately affected by the fee based structure for access to the area."

While City Park officials say public involvement in the process was sound, the coalition's lawsuit says the public comment period on FEMA's studies was truncated or non-existent. The suit also accuses City Park officials of violating state public records and open meetings laws by denying Coalition members' records requests, and failing to post meeting minutes online in a timely manner.

"The Coalition regrets filing this lawsuit, but we can no longer watch this construction go forward," Coalition leaders said in a press release. "We believe that the planned golf course is likely to be an economic failure, is not wanted by a majority of the people of New Orleans, and has not been properly vetted with full public comment."

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City Park Coalition Lawsuit