A key federal agency is once again reviewing President Donald Trump’s proposal to construct a massive arch that would dramatically alter the Washington, D.C. skyline — but the agency’s own staff is calling for design changes before the project gets the green light.
The National Capital Planning Commission held a meeting Thursday, with Trump’s proposed 250-foot (76-meter) arch listed as one of the agenda items.
In a detailed report, the commission’s staff recommended that the preliminary site and building plans receive approval — but with a significant condition. The staff also called for the design to be adjusted to comply with a federal law that restricts building heights in downtown Washington, a rule intended to protect the city’s iconic skyline. The planning commission enforces that law as part of 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 stated.
Applying the law “would require design revisions to redistribute the height between the main structure, habitable roof structure and statuary,” according to the report. Even so, the report noted that the arch, a public observation deck, and three gilded topper statues would still reach Trump’s desired 250-foot height after the recommended changes are made.
Staff members are also urging commissioners to request more details about vehicle traffic surrounding the arch, the proposed granite exterior, and other elements of the project before the Interior Department — which oversees the park service — comes back for a final decision. Trump’s vision calls for the arch to be built on a traffic circle on the Virginia side of the Memorial Bridge, across from the District of Columbia.
A separate federal body, the U.S. Commission of Fine Arts, gave its approval to the arch’s design back in May. The National Capital Planning Commission, which has authority over construction on federal land in the city, began its own review of the project in June.
Critics of the arch argue it is far too large for the surrounding landscape and would interfere with carefully planned views connecting the Lincoln Memorial and Arlington National Cemetery — sightlines that were deliberately designed to represent the reunification of the country following the Civil War.
Despite that opposition, neither commission has shown much responsiveness to the critics. Both bodies include some of Trump’s closest allies, and Trump himself appointed a top White House aide, Will Scharf, to head the planning commission.
A coalition of veterans and a historian have taken the matter to federal court, filing a lawsuit against the Trump administration in an effort to halt construction over concerns about the impact on that historic sightline.
To put the arch’s scale in perspective, it would stand more than double the height of the Lincoln Memorial, which rises 99 feet (30 meters). It would also be close to half the height of the Washington Monument, which stands approximately 555 feet (169 meters) tall.
Trump previously indicated that the arch could be funded using leftover money from the hundreds of millions of dollars he said he raised from corporations, donors, and other wealthy individuals to finance a new $400 million ballroom at the White House. However, it has since come to light that some public funds will go toward both the ballroom and the arch. The White House has not released any cost estimate for the arch project.
