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DC Arch Plans Getting Another Review 07/09 06:14
WASHINGTON (AP) -- President Donald Trump's plans to build a
skyline-altering arch in the nation's capital is getting another review from
the federal commission whose approval he needs, but the agency's staff says the
project should be revised before it gets the go-ahead.
The National Capital Planning Commission is meeting Thursday, and the
Republican president's proposed 250-foot (76-meter) arch is one of the items on
the agenda.
In a report, the agency's staff recommends that the commission approve the
preliminary site and building plans for the arch. But the staff also recommends
that the design be tweaked to comply with a federal law that limits building
heights in downtown Washington to preserve the city's famous skyline. The
planning commission applies the law during its approval process.
"Staff suggests the Commission request the applicant revise the project
design to comply with the Height of Buildings Act and return to NCPC for final
approval," the 185-page report says.
Applying the law "would require design revisions to redistribute the height
between the main structure, habitable roof structure and statuary," the report
said. But even with the recommended revisions, the arch, a public observation
deck and three gilded topper statues would still reach Trump's desired 250-foot
height, the report said.
The staff is also recommending that commissioners seek additional
information about vehicular traffic around the arch, the proposed granite
exterior and other aspects of the project before the Interior Department, which
oversees the park service, returns for final approval. Trump wants to build the
arch on a traffic circle on the Virginia side of the Memorial Bridge from the
District of Columbia.
The U.S. Commission of Fine Arts, a separate federal agency, approved the
design for the arch in May. The National Capital Planning Commission oversees
construction on federal land in the city and began reviewing the arch plan in
June.
Opponents of the project argue that the arch is too big for the skyline and
would disrupt carefully designed views between the Lincoln Memorial and
Arlington National Cemetery that were meant to symbolize the reunification of
the North and the South after the Civil War.
But the opposition has done little to influence the members of either
commission, both of which include some of Trump's closest allies. Trump
appointed Will Scharf, a top White House aide, to lead the planning commission.
A group of veterans and a historian have sued the Trump administration in
federal court to block the arch construction over concerns about disruptions to
the sightline.
The arch would be more than twice as tall as the Lincoln Memorial, which is
99 feet (30 meters) tall, and close to half the height of the Washington
Monument, at about 555 feet (169 meters) tall.
Trump had said last year that the arch could be paid for with unused funds
from the hundreds of millions of dollars he said he has raised from
corporations, donors and other wealthy people to pay to build a new $400
million ballroom at the White House.
But, as it turns out, some public money will be used for the ballroom
project, as well as the arch. The White House has not released a cost estimate
for the arch.
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