Rafael Espinoza opposed a series of big flood-control projects planned by Denver city officials as a city councilman — by voting last June against steep increases to storm drainage and sewer fees that are helping to pay for the work.

Now Espinoza has found a new way to voice his misgivings about one of the controversial projects. He was one of several residents who asked a judge’s permission late Tuesday to be added as plaintiffs to an ongoing lawsuit challenging the city’s plan to reshape much of City Park Golf Course. The city wants to create a storm water detention area on the course’s western portion that would fill up during heavy storms but remain part of the course.

Essentially, the councilman wants to sue his own city over the project — if a judge lets him.

“I voted against this (fee) increase because it missed the opportunity to not only address the stormwater drainage problems of District 1, but of the entire city,” Espinoza said in a statement Tuesday. “Instead, this project misappropriates the use of the public good to focus on a flood plain that directly eases the development of the I-70 Ditch at the expense of a more comprehensive citywide solution.”

A motion filed late Tuesday by attorney Aaron Goldhamer, who has pressed the lawsuit since last year, says a city attorney has indicated to him that the city plans to oppose only the addition of Espinoza as a plaintiff. The two sides disagree on whether a legal concept called “government deliberative privilege” prevents a sitting councilman from joining such a lawsuit, the filing indicates.

Espinoza and many critics of the city’s Platte to Park Hill storm water projects — estimated to cost $267 million to $298 million — have based their opposition in part on the link to the state’s $1.2 billion Interstate 70 plan.

The city and the Colorado Department of Transportation signed a partial cost-sharing agreement in 2015. City officials have said they would undertake the flood-control projects even without that deal because of poor drainage in the Montclair and Park Hill basins, but opponents argue I-70 is the true impetus.

Opponents also say the expensive flood projects are diverting the city’s attention from addressing big flood-control needs elsewhere, including in Globeville.

Public Works spokeswoman Nancy Kuhn said Tuesday that not all of the rate increase will go to the Platte to Park Hill work, with other drainage and water-quality projects set to benefit across the city. The Denver Post reported previously that the Platte to Park Hill projects would receive $206 million of the $383 million projected to be raised for storm drainage work through the rate increase and borrowing.

The city attorney’s office did not respond to a request for comment about the councilman’s intention to join the lawsuit.

Goldhamer also requested the addition of several other Denver residents as plaintiffs: LaMone Noles, Sarah Edgell, Vida Hughes, Christine O’Connor, David Torres, Theresa Johnson and Heather Strack. Related Articles February 16, 2017 Shouting and anger over I-70 project greet CDOT officials at Denver community meeting

February 11, 2017 Denver is about to spend big on flood-control projects — but will they leave Globeville dry?

November 25, 2016 Lawsuit challenging storm runoff plan for City Park Golf Course clears legal hurdle

June 14, 2016 Massive storm and sewer fees hike approved by Denver council

January 3, 2017 Three teams will compete to redesign City Park Golf Course as part of Denver storm detention project

Goldhamer is representing original plaintiff J.D. MacFarlane, a former Colorado attorney general, in the lawsuit, which contends Denver is trying unlawfully to convert the golf course to a non-park use.

The filing to add new plaintiffs says MacFarlane’s health could deteriorate while the case is being considered by the court. It provides no other information about his health.

The suit survived its first major legal hurdle in November when a Denver District Court judge denied the city’s motion to dismiss the case. A trial is set for Aug. 21.

Platte to Park Hill’s main components are detention areas on the City Park and Park Hill golf courses, a drainage channel north of 39th Avenue and a replacement outfall into the South Platte River at Globeville Landing Park, now under construction.

Updated (2:05 p.m. Feb. 22) to reflect that the filed motion indicates the city plans to oppose the addition of Councilman Rafael Espinoza as a plaintiff and also refers to the declining health of original plaintiff J.D. MacFarlane.