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Administrative Law Keyed to Schwartz
Citizens to Preserve Overton Park, Inc. v. Volpe
Citation:
401 U.S. 402, 91 S. Ct. 814, 28 L. Ed. 2d 136 (1971)Facts
The case involved a plan to construct a six-lane segment of Interstate 40 through Overton Park, a 342-acre city park in Memphis, Tennessee. The park contained a zoo, golf course, outdoor theater, nature trails, and 170 acres of forest. The proposed highway would sever the zoo from the rest of the park and destroy 26 acres of parkland. Although the route through the park was initially approved in 1956, the subsequent enactment of § 4(f) of the Department of Transportation Act and § 138 of the Federal-Aid Highway Act required the Secretary of Transportation to determine that no feasible and prudent alternative routes existed and that all possible planning to minimize harm had been done before approving the use of parkland. In 1969, the Secretary gave final approval for the project without providing formal findings explaining why alternative routes were not feasible or prudent, or why design changes could not further reduce harm to the park. The petitioners challenged this decision, arguing that the Secretary had not made the required determinations independently and that alternatives existed, including routing the highway around the park or constructing a tunnel.
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