Opponents of a 5,000-seat University of St. Thomas hockey and basketball arena have filed legal action against the city of St. Paul aimed at pausing construction already underway near Cretin and Summit avenues.

Daniel Kennedy, an attorney for Advocates for Responsible Development, said the city issued building permits and a site plan approval before its environmental review was finalized.

“This lawsuit seeks only the application of long-standing environmental and zoning laws to an arena project that cannot possibly conform to those laws,” Kennedy said. “The arena is too massive for this campus, for the adjacent Mississippi River ecosystem, and for the residential neighborhood.”

Working with St. Thomas, the city published and accepted an environmental assessment worksheet that was rejected by the Minnesota Court of Appeals in July for lacking a thorough analysis of how other construction on campus might impact traffic, parking and air quality, on top of arena spectator traffic.

The city updated that worksheet this month and is taking public comment through Nov. 7.

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