Romney

OPINION AND ORDER

This case is before the Court on (1) plaintiffs’ motion for a preliminary injunction seeking to halt, during the pendency hereof, the construction of two federally assisted urban renewal projects, one the Yerba Buena project in San Francisco and the other a somewhat similar, though less extensive, project in Berkeley; (2) defendants’ motion to dismiss; and (3) plaintiffs’ motion for summary judgment. The disposition hereinafter made will cover all of these.

The basis of the complaint is the alleged failure of the so-called “Federal defendants” to make an “environmental impact statement” of the character contemplated by the National Environmental Policy Act (NEPA), 42 U.S.C. § 4332 (2) (C).

The plaintiffs are a group of organizations alleging general concern for the condition of the environment and the welfare of society, and several individuals who claim residence in the vicinity of the projects involved. Plaintiffs claim no property or other legal interest in the projects or the properties included therein or adjacent thereto any greater than or different from that possessed by the citizenry at large.

There are two paramount issues:

(I) Do plaintiffs have…