| | |
| | |
|
INTRODUCTION
1. The National Coalition to Save Our Mall, World War II Veterans to Save the Mall, Committee of 100 on the Federal City, and D.C. Preservation League ("Plaintiffs") file this complaint for declaratory and injunctive relief challenging the lawfulness of the actions of Defendants Department of the Interior and National Park Service ("NPS"), the Commission of Fine Arts ("CFA"), the National Capital Planning Commission ("NCPC"), and the American Battlefield Monuments Commission ("ABMC"), in approving or recommending the approval of the location and design of a new World War II Memorial in Washington, D.C., to be sited at the historic Rainbow Pool at the eastern end of the Lincoln Memorial Reflecting Pool, between the Lincoln Memorial and the Washington Monument, in West Potomac Park on the great east-west axis of the National Mall.
2. The memorial design approved by Defendants calls for the destruction of the historic Rainbow Pool, and the creation of a new memorial plaza lowered six feet below grade and filling the central panel of the Mall from tree line to tree line. The memorial will include 56 seventeen-foot-high granite pillars on top of the 6-foot walls that enclose the plaza, and two 41-foot-high triumphal arches. The design will encroach within and impair the important east-west axial vista along the National Mall and will block the public passageway through this area between the Lincoln Memorial and the Washington Monument, and limit the public's use of this historically open space for significant national social demonstrations and gatherings. As a result, the federal Advisory Council on Historic Preservation, the independent agency created by Congress to enforce and implement the nation's historic preservation policies, has determined that the memorial will have serious and unresolved adverse effects on the National Mall and the Lincoln Memorial Grounds, which are exceptionally significant American landmarks.
3. The Defendants have violated their congressionally mandated responsibilities under the Commemorative Works Act in their respective reviews and approvals of the design of memorial by failing to ensure that the memorial is "located as to prevent interference with, or encroachment upon, any existing commemorative work," by failing to protect the Mall's historic open space, existing public use, and integrity of the design of the 1901-02 McMillan Plan for the Nation's Capital. 40 U.S.C. §§ 1001, 1007(b)(2) .
4. Defendants violated the National Environmental Policy Act ("NEPA"), 42 U.S.C. §4332(2)(C), and applicable implementing regulations, see 40 C.F.R. Part 1500; NPS-12, National Environmental Policy Act Guidelines (1997), by failing to evaluate the impacts of the design for the World War II Memorial that was actually approved, and instead evaluating a different design that involved less harmful impacts on nationally significant historic and cultural resources, and by failing to give any consideration to the impacts of "ancillary elements," including the proposed "contemplative area," a new road and parking and bus drop-off areas, and the construction of a ranger station and a comfort stations, prior to deciding that the project would have no significant impact on the environment, and by failing to prepare an Environmental Impact Statement ("EIS").
5. Defendants violated Section 106 and Section 110(a) of the National Historic Preservation Act, 16 U.S.C. §§470f, 470h-2(a), by failing to give the Advisory Council on Historic Preservation an opportunity comment on either the selection of the Rainbow Pool site on the National Mall, or the design criteria guiding the memorial's design, and by failing to take into account the effect of the memorial, prior to approving its location and design, on the important characteristics of the National Mall that contribute to its national historic significance, including the adverse effect of the memorial on the Lincoln Memorial Grounds and the nationally significant historic vistas between the Reflecting and Rainbow Pools and the Washington Monument.
6.Defendants have failed to give the public notice or an opportunity comment on either the selection of the Rainbow Pool site or the design criteria guiding the memorial's design, in violation of the of the Advisory Council's regulations implementing Section 106, 36 C.F.R. Part 800, and, in the case of Defendant American Battlefield Monuments Commission ("ABMC"), in violation of the Federal Advisory Committee Act ("FACA"), 5 U.S.C. App. II, Sec. 10(a).
7. This Court has jurisdiction over the subject matter of this action pursuant to 28 U.S.C. §§ 1331, 1361, 2201, and 2202. Venue is proper in this district under 28 U.S.C. §§1391(b) and (e) and 5 U.S.C. § 703.
8. The National Coalition to Save Our Mall is a nonprofit corporation representing a coalition of professional and civic organizations, concerned artists, historians, and citizens, formed in opposition to the proposed design for the World War II Memorial on the National Mall. The mission of the National Coalition is to protect and preserve the National Mall as our national gathering place and symbol of Constitutional principles and ensure that proposals for new memorials, security barriers, service buildings and roads do not encroach on and detract from the Mall's historical and cultural integrity, its open spaces and sweeping vistas, and its significance in American public life. The National Coalition and its individual and organizational members use, enjoy, and derive benefit from the historic and cultural resources of the National Mall. Their use, enjoyment, and appreciation of the Mall will be threatened and adversely affected by the Defendants' actions complained of herein, absent relief from this Court. 9. World War II Veterans to Save the Mall is an unincorporated association formed to represent the voice of the millions of "citizen soldiers" of World War II who actually fought in that war and who oppose the location and design of the proposed World War II Memorial at the Rainbow Pool site on the National Mall. World War II Veterans to Save the Mall and its members use, enjoy, and derive benefit from the historic and cultural resources of the National Mall. Their use, enjoyment, and appreciation of the Mall will be threatened and adversely affected by the Defendants' actions complained of herein, absent relief from this Court. 10. The Committee of 100 on the Federal City, formed in 1922, is the District's oldest planning and advocacy organization. Its mission is to safeguard and advance the fundamental planning, environmental and aesthetic values inherited from the L'Enfant Plan and the McMillan Commission that give our nation's capital its historic distinction, natural beauty and overall livability. The Committee of 100 and its individual members use, enjoy, and derive benefit from the historic and cultural resources of the National Mall. Their use, enjoyment, and appreciation of the Mall will be threatened and adversely affected by the defendants' actions complained of herein, absent relief from this Court. 11. D.C. Preservation League ("DCPL") is a private, nonprofit organization whose mission is to preserve, protect, and enhance the historic and built environment of Washington, D.C. through advocacy and education. D.C. Preservation League and its individual members use, enjoy, and derive benefit from the historic and cultural resources of the National Mall. Their use, enjoyment, and appreciation of the Mall will be threatened and adversely affected by the Defendants' actions complained of herein, absent relief from this Court. 12. Defendant Bruce Babbitt is sued in his official capacity as the U.S. Secretary of the Interior. In that capacity, defendant Babbitt is responsible for the administration, operations, and activities of the Defendant Department of the Interior, including the administration, operations, and activities of the National Park Service, an agency within the Department of the Interior. He is responsible for ensuring that the Department of the Interior and the NPS complies with the requirements of the Commemorative Works Act, NEPA, and the NHPA. 13. Defendant Department of the Interior is an agency of the United States and is responsible for the proper and lawful management of the federal public lands committed to its control, including the lands administered by the National Park Service. 14. Defendant National Park Service is an agency within the Department of the Interior directly responsible for the proper and lawful management of the national park system lands committed to its control, including the National Mall and the Lincoln Memorial Grounds. 15. Defendant Robert Stanton is sued in his official capacity as the Director of the National Park Service. In that capacity, defendant Stanton is responsible for the administration, operations, and activities of the National Park Service. He is responsible for ensuring that the NPS complies with the requirements of the Commemorative Works Act, NEPA, and the NHPA. 16. The Commission of Fine Arts ("CFA") is a federal agency established by Congress in 1910, with responsibility for reviewing the design of public buildings erected within the limits of Washington and private and semi-public buildings erected within certain designated areas, including the monumental core, and approving the location and design of statues, fountains, and monuments in public squares, streets, and parks in the District of Columbia. 40 C.F.R. §§ 104, 121. As part of its statutory duties, the CFA is also charged with responsibility for reviewing and approving proposed commemorative works in the District of Columbia and its environs. 40 U.S.C. § 1007(a). 17. Defendant J. Carter Brown is sued in his official capacity as Chairman of the Commission of Fine Arts. He is responsible for ensuring that the CFA complies with the requirements of the Commemorative Works Act, NEPA, and the NHPA. 18. Defendant National Capital Planning Commission ("NCPC") is the federal agency responsible for land use planning in the Nation's Capital in accordance with the National Capital Planning Act, 40 U.S.C. §71a(a)(1). As part of its statutory duties, NCPC is responsible for reviewing and approving proposed commemorative works within the District of Columbia and its environs. Id. § 1007(a). 19. Defendant Harvey Gantt is sued in his official capacity as Chairman of the NCPC. He is responsible for ensuring that the NCPC complies with the requirements of the Commemorative Works Act , NEPA, and the NHPA. 20. The American Battlefield Monuments Commission ("ABMC") was created by Congress in 1922 to, among other things, prepare plans and estimates for the erection of suitable memorials to commemorate the services of the American Armed Forces. 36 U.S.C. §§ 121, 123. The ABMC "shall consist of not more than eleven members who shall be appointed by the President, who shall also appoint one officer of the regular Army to serve as its secretary. The members and secretary shall serve at the pleasure of the President, who shall fill any vacancies that from time to time occur. 40 U.S.C. 121.
|
|
Copyright © 2010 National Coalition to Save Our Mall Inc. All Rights Reserved |