NATIONAL CTR. FOR PRESERVATION LAW v. Landrieu
| Decision Date | 25 August 1980 |
| Docket Number | Civ. A. No. 80-0781-1. |
| Citation | 496 F. Supp. 716 |
| Parties | NATIONAL CENTER FOR PRESERVATION LAW, Preservation Society of Charleston, the Charlestown Neighborhood Association, and Harleston Village Association, Plaintiffs, v. Moon LANDRIEU, as Secretary of the Department of Housing and Urban Development, Robert T. Hall, as Assistant Secretary of Commerce and Administrator for Economic Development of the Economic Development Administration, Richard H. Jenrette, as Chairman, and David K. Wilson, as Vice Chairman of the Advisory Council on Historic Preservation, and Joseph P. Riley, Jr., as Mayor of the City of Charleston, South Carolina, a municipal corporation, Defendants. |
| Court | U.S. District Court — District of South Carolina |
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Theodore L. Garrett, Patricia A. Barald, William M. Paul and David F. Williams, Covington & Burling, Washington, D. C., Mary Ann Marwick, Summerville, S. C., for plaintiffs.
Charlotte R. Bell, Land and Resources Division, Dept. of Justice, Washington, D. C., for Landrieu.
Marc L. Fleischaker and Charles R. Claxton, Arent, Fox, Kintner, Plotkin & Kahn, Washington, D. C., for Mayor Riley.
Heidi M. Solomon, Asst. U. S. Atty., Charleston, S. C., for Federal defendants.
William B. Regan and Alice F. Paylor, Charleston, S. C., for City of Charleston.
Plaintiffs, Preservation Society of Charleston, Charlestown Neighborhood Association and Harleston Village Association, seek to enjoin the City of Charleston from beginning construction of the Charleston Center Project to develop a hotel, convention center, parking facility and retail area in the old and historic district of Charleston. They further seek to enjoin the Department of Housing and Urban Development (HUD) and the Economic Development Administration (EDA) of the Department of Commerce from releasing federal grant money to the City.
Plaintiff Preservation Society of Charleston was organized in 1920 and incorporated under the laws of the State of South Carolina in 1928. The Preservation Society has approximately 2400 members, many of whom reside on property and/or work near the site of the proposed Charleston Center Project. (Compl., par. 4). Plaintiff Charlestown Neighborhood Association is a neighborhood organization comprised of some 800 individuals who reside and/or own property within a few blocks to the south of the proposed Charleston Center Project and within the old and historic district. (Compl., par. 5). Plaintiff Harleston Village Association is a neighborhood organization comprised of some 300 individuals who reside and/or own property within a few blocks to the west of the proposed Charleston Center Project and within the old and historic district. (Compl., par. 6). An original plaintiff to this action was the National Center for Preservation Law which was incorporated in 1978 under the laws of the State of New York as a nonprofit corporation devoted to architectural, historical and neighborhood conservation. The Center is a public-interest law firm with its headquarters in New York City and offices in Washington, D.C., and San Francisco, California. Among the primary functions of the National Center are the dissemination of legal and technical advice to the public and to other preservation groups and the stimulation of public interest and debate concerning historic preservation issues.
Named as defendants are Joseph P. Riley, Jr., as Mayor of the City of Charleston, South Carolina, and four individuals who head federal agencies: Moon Landrieu, the Department of Housing and Urban Development (HUD); Robert T. Hall, the Economic Development Administration (EDA) of the Department of Commerce, and Richard H. Jenrette and David K. Wilson, the Advisory Council on Historic Preservation (Advisory Council).
Plaintiffs filed their complaint in the United States District Court for the District of Columbia on February 25, 1980. In their complaint they stated that this action arises under 42 U.S.C. § 5301, et seq. (Housing and Community Development Act), 42 U.S.C. § 4321, et seq. (National Environmental Policy Act), 16 U.S.C. § 470, et seq. (National Historic Preservation Act), 42 U.S.C. § 3121, et seq. (Public Works and Economic Development Act of 1965), 5 U.S.C. § 701, et seq. (Administrative Procedure Act), and the federal regulations promulgated thereunder. It was further alleged in the complaint that jurisdiction is vested in the court under 28 U.S.C. §§ 1331 (federal question), 1346 (United States as defendant), 1361 (mandamus of federal officer), 2201 (declaratory judgment), and 2202 (further relief on declaratory judgment).
In Count I of their complaint the plaintiffs allege that HUD funding of the City of Charleston's portion of the Charleston Center Project violates the Housing and Community Development Act of 1974 (HCDA), 42 U.S.C. § 5301, et seq., and HUD's implementing regulations, 24 C.F.R. § 570.200, et seq. Plaintiffs contend that the project is ineligible for funding and that the City failed to meet certain Urban Development Action Grant program procedural requirements. Consequently, they assert that the approval by the Secretary of the HUD application was arbitrary, capricious, and in violation of federal law.
Plaintiffs allege in Count II of the complaint that the Secretary of HUD and the Administrator for Economic Development improperly delegated to the City of Charleston their environmental review responsibilities for the Charleston Center Project under the National Environmental Policy Act (NEPA), 42 U.S.C. § 4321, et seq.
In Count III of the complaint the plaintiffs attack the adequacy of the EIS filed by the City of Charleston concerning the Charleston Center Project. The plaintiffs alleges that the EIS' failure to include certain necessary information is a violation of NEPA, 42 U.S.C. § 4321, et seq., and is not in compliance with the CEQ Guidelines contained in 40 C.F.R. Part 1500.
In Count IV of the complaint the plaintiffs contend that the Secretary of HUD and the Administrator for Economic Development improperly delegated to the City of Charleston their historical review responsibilities for the Charleston Center Project under the National Historic Preservation Act (NHPA), 16 U.S.C. § 470, et seq.
In Count V of the complaint the plaintiffs allege that the Secretary of HUD and the Administrator for Economic Development acted arbitrarily, capriciously, and in violation of federal law in executing the Memorandum of Agreement (MOA) concerning the Charleston Center Project.
In Count VI of the complaint the plaintiffs contend that the Advisory Council was never provided an opportunity to comment on the Charleston Center Project and its failure to comment was arbitrary, capricious, an abuse of discretion, and in violation of the NHPA. Further, they assert that the execution of the MOA by the Executive Director of the Advisory Council is in violation of the NHPA and that the Vice Chairman of the Council failed to comply with the regulations of the Advisory Council in ratifying the MOA.
The plaintiffs seek, among other things, a declaration (1) that the HUD Urban Development Action Grant (UDAG) to the City was made for ineligible activities; (2) that HUD's and EDA's delegation to the City of certain responsibilities under the NEPA, 42 U.S.C. § 4321, et seq., the NHPA, 16 U.S.C. § 470, et seq., and Executive Order 11593, was arbitrary, capricious, an abuse of discretion and otherwise not in accordance with law; (3) that the execution of a Memorandum of Agreement by EDA, HUD, the City of Charleston and the Advisory Council was arbitrary, capricious, an abuse of discretion and otherwise not in accordance with law; and (4) that the City's EIS does not satisfy NEPA and the CEQ Guidelines and Regulations. The plaintiffs also seek to enjoin permanently EDA and HUD from releasing grant funds until they fulfill certain alleged responsibilities under NEPA, NHPA and Executive Order 11593, and to enjoin the City of Charleston from beginning construction of the Charleston Center Project.
On March 10, 1980, the federal defendants filed a motion for a change of venue pursuant to 28 U.S.C. § 1404. On that same day, the City of Charleston filed a motion to dismiss this action, or in the alternative to transfer it to the United States District Court for the District of South Carolina, Charleston Division. On April 25, 1980, the Honorable Harold H. Green, United States District Judge for the District of Columbia, entered an order pursuant to 28 U.S.C. § 1404(a) transferring this action to the United States District Court for the District of South Carolina. At that time, another case was pending before this court which involved essentially the same parties and which requested essentially the same declaratory relief. That case was entitled City of Charleston v. National Center for Preservation Law, et al., No. 80-0136-1, (hereinafter cited as City of Charleston).
On April 23, 1980, the plaintiffs filed two motions in the City of Charleston case: one for a temporary restraining order, and one for a preliminary injunction pursuant to Rule 65(a), Fed.R.Civ.P. A temporary restraining order was entered by this court on April 29, 1980, during a hearing with all parties present. That order temporarily enjoined the City of Charleston from condemning and/or demolishing any buildings on the proposed site of the Charleston Center. An order for a preliminary injunction was entered by this court on May 8, 1980, which enjoined the City of Charleston from demolishing any buildings located on the proposed site of the Charleston Center. On that same day, the plaintiffs in this case filed a motion for a preliminary injunction and, by order dated May 9, 1980, the court issued an...
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