Trumps arch wins preliminary approval in DC but towering question remains

WASHINGTON – The National Capital Planning Commission on Thursday gave preliminary approval to President Trump’s massive memorial arch and signaled its support for his plan to change the shape of DC’s skyline.The proposal still faces a final vote – likely at the commission’s September meeting – and the lingering question of how high it will ultimately reach.

Trump wants a 250-foot memorial that would sit on a traffic circle between Arlington National Cemetery and Arlington Memorial Bridge.If approved, it would obstruct the view between the Lincoln Memorial and the site where the nation’s soldiers are laid to rest.The president’s hand-picked commissioners indicated they favored his height plan, rejecting a compromise by the commission’s staff that would honor a federal law intended to protect the skyline while giving the president his 250-foot arch.Commission staff suggested the memorial be revised so its arch stood at 130 feet – meeting the requirements of the 1910 Height of Buildings Act – but expand the size of the statues that would line its top so the overall size would hit the 250 mark.The statues, they contend, are an architectural embellishment and therefore do not apply to height requirements. But Commission Chairman Will Scharf, hand-picked by Trump to lead the board, overruled them.

He noted he’d ask the Interior Department, which is overseeing construction of the arch, to provide an argument of why the law doesn’t apply.“Those materials provide what I believe is a compelling argument that the Height of Buildings Act is not applicable to the federal government,” he said.Ultimately, the commission decided to leave the question of the arch’s height for a future meeting where they will also debate if the Height of Buildings Act, which forbids construction over 130 feet, applies to federal buildings.If they rule the law doesn’t apply to federal construction, Trump could be given carte blanche to build any government buildin...