WASHINGTON — President Donald Trump’s plans to build a skyline-changing arch in the nation’s capital are facing another round of scrutiny from a federal commission whose approval he needs, but agency officials say the project must be reconsidered before it gets the go-ahead.
The National Capital Planning Commission meets Thursday, and the Republican president’s proposed 250-foot (76-meter) arch is high on the agenda.
In the report, agency staff recommend that the commission approve the preliminary site and construction plans for the arch. But staff are also recommending changes to the project to comply with federal law that limits the height of buildings in downtown Washington to preserve the city’s iconic skyline. The Planning Commission applies the law during its approval process.
“Staff suggests that the Commission request that the applicant revise the project design to comply with the Building Height Act and return to NCPC for final approval,” the 185-page report states.
Applying the law “would require design modifications to redistribute height between the main structure, habitable roof structure and sculpture,” the report states. But even with the recommended changes, the arch, public viewing platform and three gilded statues would still reach Trump’s desired height of 250 feet, the report said.
Staff also recommends commissioners seek more information about vehicular traffic around the arch, the proposed granite façade and other aspects of the project before the Interior Department, which oversees park maintenance, returns for final approval. Trump wants to build an arch at the interchange on the Virginia side of the Memorial Bridge from DC.
The U.S. Commission of Fine Arts, a separate federal agency, approved the arch project in May. The National Capital Planning Commission is overseeing 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 large 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 South after the Civil War.
But the opposition has done little to sway members of either commission, both of which include some of Trump’s closest allies. Trump named Will Scharf, a top White House aide, to head the planning commission.
A veterans’ group and a historian have sued the Trump administration in federal court to block construction of the arch over concerns about view interference.
The arch will be more than twice as tall as the Lincoln Memorial, which is 99 feet (30 meters) tall, and nearly half as tall as the Washington Monument, which is about 555 feet (169 meters) tall.
Last year, Trump said the arch could be paid for with unused funds from hundreds of millions of dollars he said he had raised from corporations, donors and other wealthy individuals to pay for construction of a new $400 million White House ballroom.
But, as it turned out, government money will be used for the ballroom project, as well as for the arch. The White House has not released an estimate for the arch’s construction.