Want to comment on the White House East Wing ballroom plan? You can soon.

Want to express your thoughts on the demolition of the East Wing? Or the construction of the $400 million White House ballroom?

You’ll have your chance to sound off on March 5 at a hearing of the National Capital Planning Commission, before members vote on the project. An online portal allowing the public to register to speak will open on Feb. 12, according to recently filed court documents. USA TODAY is the first to report on this detail of the filing.

The documents were filed in response to a Dec. 12 lawsuit by the National Trust for Historic Preservation aimed at blocking the construction of President Donald Trump's new 20,000 square foot White House ballroom as part of a 90,000-square-foot renovation of the East Wing.

A court hearing is set for January 22.

The lawsuit, filed in the U.S. District Court for the District of Columbia, names Trump, the National Park Service and several other administration officials involved in a fast-expanding project that already included the demolition of the East Wing and prompted the ire of preservationists and former first ladies including Hillary Clinton and Michelle Obama.

The lawsuit alleges the construction is unlawful and asks the court to halt further construction until the plans go through a legally mandated review process.

"No president is legally allowed to tear down portions of the White House without any review whatsoever – not President Trump, not President Biden, and not anyone else," the lawsuit said. "And no president is legally allowed to construct a ballroom on public property without giving the public the opportunity to weigh in."

The 90,000-square-foot East Wing Modernization project has a price tag of $400 million and is expected to accommodate about 1,000 people. That's an increase from earlier plans in July for a ballroom that cost $200 million and would seat 650 people.

The project also has gone through some changes in management over the past six months. Architect James McCrery II, who was initially brought on board by Trump to serve as the lead architect in July, was replaced in December by Washington DC-based Shalom Baranes to lead the project. McCrery is staying on as a consultant.

The National Historic Preservation Act of 1966, which requires reviews of projects that affect historic buildings, exempts the White House, Supreme Court Building and U.S. Capitol.

The National Parks Service and other defendants said it their response that NTHP’s “statutory mission specifically excludes the White House—an intentional congressional decision to keep this entity out of the President’s affairs.”

“Simply put, the East Wing project is none of the National Trust’s business,” the National Parks Service said in its response.

Swapna Venugopal Ramaswamy is a White House Correspondent for USA TODAY. You can follow her on X @SwapnaVenugopal