TROY – A lawsuit has been filed to stop development of the 1 Monument Square site as the city Planning Commission has scheduled a Sept. 12 meeting to act on the environmental review and plans for the proposed 11 movie theaters.

Judge Development Corp. through its affiliates 251 River Street, LLC and 225 River Street, LLC, argues in its lawsuit that the city has committed errors in the environmental review and the theaters will be built on city parkland, which would require the State Legislature’s permission.

“It is our position that an 11-screen movie theatre at 1 Monument Square with all its attendant traffic and parking implications would cause irreparable harm to Downtown Troy and adversely affect our tenants, adjacent properties and the Downtown community in general. Furthermore, the disposition of public park land is not permitted under State law,” a statement issued Tuesday by attorney James Hacker on behalf of Judge and the law firms E. Stewart Jones, Hacker, Murphy and Tuczinski, Gilchrist, Cavalier & Tingle, in the case.

City officials have not yet seen the lawsuit, said John Salka, a spokesman for Mayor Patrick Madden.

The lawsuits asks for the State Supreme Court to annul the City Council ordnance authorizing the Madden administration to enter a land development deal with Bow Tie Cinemas, LLC. The properties at 225 River St. and 251 River St. are the next door neighbors of the proposed movie theaters.

Bow Tie has proposed a $22.7 million project that includes the 11 movie theaters and parking for 105 vehicles. Bow Tie executives have said they want to begin construction this fall in order to open the theaters in time for the 2018 holiday season.

Bow Tie must secure the planning commission and zoning board of appeals approval for the project to move forward. An earlier lawsuit filed by Judge has led the ZBA to rescind its passage of a sign variance due to the State Environmental Quality Review Act not being properly followed.

“The public has a vested interest in the fate of 1 Monument Square. The processes by which projects are vetted and approved is of vital importance since a development on this site, and of this scale, will impact Downtown Troy for generations. Clearly, the City of Troy has a long way to go in order to ensure the planning and approval processes are performed responsibly, (publicly) and according to the law,” Hacker’s statement continued.

The Bow Tie project is the fourth one proposed for the former City Hall site. The previous three failed to proceed due to problems arising in negotiations for the projects. The city dropped the Judge Development Co. proposal, which was the second project of the four, when the company declined to disclose financial information.