Committee of 100 on the Federal City v. Hodel

777 F.2d 711, 250 U.S. App. D.C. 52
CourtCourt of Appeals for the D.C. Circuit
DecidedNovember 8, 1985
DocketNos. 85-5689 to 85-5691
StatusPublished
Cited by3 cases

This text of 777 F.2d 711 (Committee of 100 on the Federal City v. Hodel) is published on Counsel Stack Legal Research, covering Court of Appeals for the D.C. Circuit primary law. Counsel Stack provides free access to over 12 million legal documents including statutes, case law, regulations, and constitutions.

Bluebook
Committee of 100 on the Federal City v. Hodel, 777 F.2d 711, 250 U.S. App. D.C. 52 (D.C. Cir. 1985).

Opinion

Opinion for the Court filed by Senior Circuit Judge McGOWAN.

McGOWAN, Senior Circuit Judge:

These consolidated appeals present the question of which statute, either 16 U.S.C. § 460Z -9(c) (1982) (“§ 9(c)”) or 16 U.S.C. § 460Z -22(b) (1982) (“§ 22(b)”), controls where the National Park Service (“Park Service”) seeks to exchange a piece of national park property for other property [54]*54which is within a national park but which also happens to be adjacent to another national park. The pivotal importance of these two provisions to the disposition of this case requires that we set forth their terms in full at the outset of our opinion. Section 9(c) provides:

Whenever the Secretary of the Interior. determines that to do so will contribute to, and is necessary for, the proper preservation, protection, interpretation, or management of an area of the national park system, he may, following timely notice in writing to the Committee on Interior and Insular Affairs of the House of Representatives and to the Committee on Energy and Natural Resources of the Senate of his intention to do so, and by publication of a revised boundary map or other description in the Federal Register, (i) make minor revisions of the boundary of the area, and moneys appropriated from the fund shall be available for acquisition of any lands, waters, and interests therein added to the area by such boundary revision subject to such statutory limitations, if any, on methods of acquisition and appropriations thereof as may be specifically applicable to such area: Provided, however, That such authority shall apply only to those boundaries established subsequent to January 1, 1965; and (ii) acquire by donation, purchase with donated funds, transfer from any other Federal agency, or exchange, lands, waters, or interests therein adjacent to such area, except that in exercising' this authority under this clause (ii) the Secretary may not alienate property administered as part of the national park system in order to acquire lands by exchange, the Secretary may not acquire property without the consent of the owner, and the Secretary may acquire property owned by a State or political subdivision thereof only by donation. Prior to making a determination under this subsection, the Secretary shall consult with the duly elected governing body of the county, city, town, or other jurisdiction or jurisdictions having primary taxing authority over the land or interest to be acquired as to the impacts of such proposed action, and he shall also take such steps as he may deem appropriate to advance local public awareness of the proposed action. Lands, waters, and interests therein acquired in accordance with this subsection shall be administered as part of the area to which they are added, subject to the laws and regulations applicable thereto.

Section 22(b) provides:

The Secretary of the Interior is authorized to accept title to any non-Federal property or interest therein within a unit of the National Park System or miscellaneous area under his administration, and in exchange therefor he may convey to the grantor of such property or interest any Federally-owned property or interest therein under his jurisdiction which he determines is suitable for exchange or other disposal and which is located in the same State as the non-Federal property to be acquired: Provided, however, that timber lands subject to harvest under a sustained yield program shall not be so exchanged. Upon request of a State or a political subdivision thereof, or of a party in interest, prior to such exchange the Secretary or his designee shall hold a public hearing in the area where the lands to be exchanged are located. The values of the properties so exchanged, either shall be approximately equal, or if they are not approximately equal, the values shall be equalized by the payment of cash to the grantor from funds appropriated for the acquisition of land for the area, or to the Secretary as the circumstances require.

We hold that § 22(b) controls in these circumstances. We therefore reverse the order of the district court, which granted summary judgment to the plaintiffs and entered a permanent injunction against the proposed exchange of property. Committee of 100 on the Federal City v. Hodel, 611 F.Supp. 547 (D.D.C.1985). Although the district court did not reach the issue, we further hold that the “public hearing” requirement of § 22(b) does not require the [55]*55Park Service to conduct any further hearings in this case and that the Park Service conclusion that the two properties were “approximately equal in value,” as required by § 22(b), was reasonable.

I. Background

A. The Proposed exchange

The Georgetown waterfront is located between Key Bridge and Rock Creek in the District of Columbia. Ownership of the land in this area is distributed among several entities. Immediately to the east of the area is the Rock Creek and Potomac Parkway, a national park. On the west bank of Rock Creek, Washington Harbour Associates (“WHA”), one of the appellants, owns three lots of private property. The United States, in a 1938 deed, acquired rights over 1.21 acres of this land. These rights, which the parties refer to as an “easement,” limit building heights on this property to 20 feet or one story. The Park Service controls the various properties held by the United States in the waterfront area, including these easement rights.

On the portion of its property which is not subject to this easement, WHA has commenced an extensive development project (referred to as “Phase I”). In addition, WHA proposes a “Phase II,” including the construction of a high-rise office and hotel complex in excess of 50 feet in height on the land which is subject to the 20 foot height easement. Rosewood Hotels, Inc. (“Rosewood”) has a contract with WHA to purchase the Phase II land in order that it may construct the hotel and office building.

In 1983, WHA entered negotiations with the Park Service. WHA proposed that the Park Service surrender its 20 foot height easement. In exchange, WHA would give the United States title to scenic and access easements, including an easement along the west bank of Rock Creek, an access easement along the Potomac River, and a scenic easement along Thomas Jefferson Street, which runs through the middle of the Phase I site. WHA also offered to make landscape improvements along the east bank of Rock Creek, as well as on federal property south of the Phase II site.

In December 1983, the Park Service described the proposal in an Environmental Assessment, which suggested that the proposed property exchange was desirable. On January 17, 1984, the Park Service held a hearing for the purpose of receiving comments on the Environmental Assessment. Based in part on these public comments, the Park Service rejected WHA’s preliminary offer.

After further negotiations, WHA and the Park Service reached agreement on a revised proposal, which would lower the height of one of the buildings. WHA also agreed to make further landscaping improvements, coupled with perpetual maintenance of those areas, to donate one million dollars for development of a park along the Potomac waterfront, to repair a seawall, and to renovate the tidelock of the C & O Canal.

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Bluebook (online)
777 F.2d 711, 250 U.S. App. D.C. 52, Counsel Stack Legal Research, https://law.counselstack.com/opinion/committee-of-100-on-the-federal-city-v-hodel-cadc-1985.