(ATLANTA, Ga.) — Public comment could last into the night on the planned Atlanta Public Safety Training Center, dubbed ‘Cop City’ by critics, in downtown Atlanta. Some 300 people signed up to give comment, with crowds outside maintaining opposition. WSB-TV’s Bryan Mims was at Atlanta City Hall, where they urged the council to vote against the project.

“I can’t support something where we’re putting all of this funding into tearing down the forest for a training center in urban warfare,” protester Jacob Evans said. A mock city is planned as part of the facility. Proponents say it’ll be used to train police in crowd control, while critics characterize it as a plan for training in urban warfare.

The project, originally announced during the tenure of former mayor Keisha Lance Bottoms, has been contentious just about every step of the way. A high in tension came earlier this year, when a protestor was shot dead in January.

The sitting mayor of Atlanta, Mayor Andre Dickens, maintains full support for the planned facility. The lease on the property is for about 385 acres, which the mayor says the majority of which will be set aside as greenspace.

The facility itself would likely take up some 85 acres, including the mock city, classrooms, shooting ranges, and a ‘burn building.’

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