Some controversy over the Harbor Shores project in Benton Harbor continues. Monday morning, three people were arrested in Jean Klock Park, as they protested development along the beachfront there.

About a dozen others stood by, but weren’t arrested.

On Monday, three people sat in a tree, trying to stop the bulldozers from taking down more trees in Jean Klock Park. When the trio wouldn't budge, Benton Harbor police arrested them.

The protesters claim the public wasn't properly informed about the changes that would be made to the park with the Harbor Shores project. But officials with Harbor Shores say they have permits to do the work and it will continue.

“They've never disclosed what the whole scope of the project was. As a resident, I've never seen a detailed description of what those improvements would be,” says Nicole Moon, one of three people arrested for sitting in the tree.

Meantime, Harbor Shores officials say those improvements were made public. The group is putting three million dollars into Jean Klock Park improvements. It's part of a deal the developers worked out, to construct a golf course along part of the lakefront.

But when some residents and Friends of Jean Klock Park saw trees coming down Monday morning, they couldn't sit by and watch. “I ran in front of the bulldozer and told them to stop. I ran out there but couldn't get out fast enough,” explains Moon.

“Nicole [Moon] got higher up in the tree than I did, Betty also got up. I sat on a stump, after they already bulldozed trees over,” says Scott Elliott, another person arrested for sitting on the tree.

Construction workers asked them to leave, and when they wouldn't, the police were called in and they were arrested. The three were cited and charged with trespassing and causing a disturbance. “I had no intention of getting arrested,” says Elliott.

“And the only way we seemed to get attention is taking the desperate measure of getting arrested in front of the bulldozer,” says Betty Pierman, another person arrested.

Despite the protesters' actions, a spokeswoman for Harbor Shores says this work is under permit and no one should be surprised by the changes. She says the trees were being removed for a parking lot, which is part of the park’s new master plan.

But that plan is one the trio in the tree says they'll continue to fight. “They're taking a good portion of it, 90 feet of it, off the beachfront, for their improvement ‘quote on quote’,” says Moon.

“We've been trying to educate people as to what they're losing and what's at stake,” adds Elliott.

You may recall, last month a Berrien County judge tossed out a lawsuit challenging the project and it's use of part of the city's Jean Klock Park.

The three people arrested Monday must appear in court on October 7th. They are also taking this fight to federal court. They've filed for a restraining order to stop the bulldozers in the park.

As for Harbor Shores, officials tell me they plan to continue their work.