City of Sausalito v. O'Neill

Decision Date03 July 2002
Docket NumberNo. C-01-01819 EDL.,C-01-01819 EDL.
Citation211 F.Supp.2d 1175
CourtU.S. District Court — Northern District of California
PartiesCITY OF SAUSALITO, Plaintiff, v. Brian O'NEILL, et al., Defendants.

Charles O'Connor, Chief, Env. & Nat. Resources, San Francisco, CA, for National

Park Service, Brian O'Neill, John Reynolds.

Linda Parker, Eileen M. Rice, Stephan C. Volker, Law Offices of Stephan C. Volker, Oakland, CA, for City of Sausalito,

ORDER GRANTING DEFENDANTS' MOTION FOR SUMMARY JUDGMENT AND DENYING PLAINTIFF'S MOTION FOR SUMMARY JUDGMENT

LAPORTE, United States Magistrate Judge.

I. INTRODUCTION

In October 1999, Defendant National Park Service issued the Final Environmental Impact Statement addressing the plan for the future use of Fort Baker. A former military base, Fort Baker is situated a few miles to the south and west of the City of Sausalito, California, near the north end of the Golden Gate Bridge. The Final Environmental Impact Statement focuses on new uses for historic buildings at Fort Baker, expansion of the Bay Area Discovery Museum, visitor recreation and the protection, restoration and maintenance of natural areas.

On May 10, 2001, Plaintiff City of Sausalito filed this action, concerned that the plan selected would entail excessive development, including a large hotel and conference center, that would increase traffic and otherwise negatively effect the City. Specifically, the City alleges that the Final Environmental Impact Statement is unlawful and violates the National Environmental Policy Act, 42 U.S.C. §§ 4321-4347, the Endangered Species Act, 16 U.S.C. §§ 1531-1544, the Migratory Bird Treaty Act, 16 U.S.C. §§ 703-712, the Marine Mammal Protection Act, 16 U.S.C. §§ 1371-1421h, the Coastal Zone Management Act, 16 U.S.C. §§ 1452-1465, the National Park Service Organic Act, 16 U.S.C. §§ 1-18f-3, the legislation creating the Golden Gate National Recreation Area, 16 U.S.C. § 460bb, the National Park Service Regulations, 36 C.F.R. Part 51, the 1996 Omnibus Parks and Public Lands Management Act, 16 U.S.C. § 17o, and the Administrative Procedure Act, 5 U.S.C. §§ 701-706.

In October 2001, the National Park Service lodged the voluminous administrative record in this case, totaling 18,665 pages. On March 27, 2002, both parties moved for summary judgment. Both motions were timely opposed and each party filed a reply. Amicus curiae Bay Area Discovery Museum filed a brief on April 24, 2002. On June 5, 2002, the Court held a hearing on the motions for summary judgment. All parties appeared through their counsel of record. The parties submitted supplemental briefing and declarations on June 10, 11 and 13, 2002.

For the reasons explained in detail below, the Court concludes that under the applicable statutes and caselaw, Defendants are entitled to summary judgment. The Court appreciates Sausalito's concerns regarding development and use of this beautiful site, and the potential impact on the quality of life in Sausalito, a charming seaside town. The Court notes that Sausalito's participation in the process of the drafting of the Final Environmental Impact Statement had a positive effect in terms of development of a series of mitigation measures designed to minimize any negative spillover effects on Sausalito. It appears that the National Park Service also took into account Sausalito's concerns when it selected the most environmentally sensitive proposal for the smallest hotel and conference center, with only 156 rooms, as opposed to the much larger 350-room maximum considered in the Plan. This more modest hotel will better maintain the peaceful atmosphere at Fort Baker while reducing the impact on City traffic. In any event, the Court's task is not to assess the wisdom of the Final Environmental Impact Statement, but only to determine whether it meets the legal requirements that Sausalito has standing to assert. The Court concludes that it does.

II. BACKGROUND FACTS

Fort Baker is a 335-acre former military site within the boundaries of the Golden Gate National Recreation Area, a unit of the National Park Service. Administrative Record ("AR"), vol. 3 at FB001210. Situated north of the Golden Gate Bridge, Fort Baker is a "bowl-shaped valley" in Marin County, bounded by Highway 101 on the west, by Alexander Avenue on the north and by the San Francisco Bay in Marin County on the south and east. Id.

In 1985, the Army began the transfer of land in Fort Baker to the National Park Service. AR, vol. 3 at FB001210. In 1995, Fort Baker was added to the Department of Defense's base closure list. Id. Upon base closure in 2001, jurisdiction over the base was completely transferred to the National Park Service. Id. Fort Baker contains old military buildings as well as a marina and beach at Horseshoe Bay. AR, vol. 3 at FB001267-FB001268. Fort Baker is an historic district on the National Register of Historic Places. AR, vol. 3 at FB001215. Since 1991, Fort Baker has also been home to the Bay Area Discovery Museum, a popular children's museum. Id.; see also Bay Area Discovery Museum Amicus brief at 1:16-25.

A. Public scoping

Prior to acceptance of the Final Environmental Impact Statement for development at Fort Baker, the National Park Service initiated public scoping, including public meetings, workshops and site tours, beginning in 1997. AR, vol. 1 at FB000049-FB000138. In August 1997, the National Park Service published a Notice of Scoping in the Federal Register, giving the public sixty days to submit comments. AR, vol. 1 at FB000168. Two meetings were held in the fall of 1997 regarding this scoping. AR, vol. 1 at FB000228-000250; FB000257-000303.

As a result of this scoping period, the National Park Service drafted the Draft Environmental Impact Statement. AR, vol. 2 at FB000742-FB000981. After the National Park Service released the Draft Environmental Impact Statement in October 1998, the National Park Service conducted another sixty-day scoping period, during which the National Park Service took 127 oral and written comments and held a public meeting. AR, vol. 2 at FB000982-FB001055; AR, vol. 3 at FB001476-FB001859. The review period ended on December 7, 1998. AR, vol. 2 at FB000711. At the City's request, the National Park Service agreed to three additional public meetings beyond the sixty-day scoping period regarding the City's concerns with the Draft Environmental Impact Statement. AR, vol. 3 at FB001415; AR, vol. 24 at FB015323; AR, vol. 16 at FB011585-011590; AR, vol. 24 at FB015604-015624; AR, vol. 3 at FB001415; see also Def.'s Mot. for Summ. J. at 7:6-16. The National Park Service revised the Draft Environmental Impact Statement based on the City's comments during that period as well as on the previous comments, and issued the Final Environmental Impact Statement in October 1999. AR, vol. 3 at FB001196; FB001218; FB001357-FB001359; FB001514-FB001523.

B. The Final Environmental Impact Statement

The Final Environmental Impact Statement analyzes the environmental consequences of four alternatives for Fort Baker and identifies mitigating measures that would avoid or minimize adverse effects of each alternative. AR, vol. 3 at FB001199. The four alternatives are: (1) the Proposed Action; (2) the 1980 General Management Plan alternative; (3) the Office and Cultural Center alternative; and (4) the No Action alternative. AR, vol. 3 at FB001200-FB001203 (summary of alternatives). The objectives of the Proposed Action, as adopted by the National Park Service, are: (1) to promote the national park mission through providing public programs and opportunities that have a direct relationship with the National Park mission as well as relevance to national and local visitors, protecting, restoring and maintaining historic, cultural and natural resources, and providing opportunities for education and interpretation to a diverse public constituency; (2) to achieve environmental sustainability in buildings and infrastructure as well as financial sustainability by generating "a stable source of revenue that contributes to historic, cultural and natural resource preservation and interpretation including overall site and infrastructure costs;" (3) to retain and relate to Fort Baker's special qualities by demonstrating a relationship between the site and use, by providing waterfront access and by demonstrating a compelling reason for a program's location at Fort Baker; (4) to promote public access by providing for Park user diversity, by providing program diversity and by promoting public access to building and programmatic uses; (5) to minimize environmental impacts by minimizing impacts to the site and adjacent communities, impacts to other Park sites and impacts to traffic and parking; (6) to retain and complement permanent site tenants and other Golden Gate National Recreation Area sites and programs by ensuring compatibility with existing permanent tenants and programs at Fort Baker. AR, vol. 3 at FB001216-FB001218.

Under the Proposed Action, the Bay Area Discovery Museum will expand within its existing structure (10,000 square feet) and will engage in new construction (25,000 square feet). AR, vol. 3 at FB001224; FB001232. The current Bay Area Discovery Museum parking spaces will be relocated to provide the necessary 240 spaces. AR, vol. 3 at FB001224; FB001232.

There will be 42 acres of habitat restoration and enhancement, including additional acres for habitat for the endangered mission blue butterfly. AR, vol. 3 at FB001225. The Proposed Action will maintain and enhance approximately 14.25 acres of existing mission blue butterfly habitat and actively restore another 8.75 acres. AR, vol. 3 at FB001238. The Proposed Action contemplates removal of eucalyptus trees, which are not native plants, but any such removal would be subject to another...

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