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| August 2, 2002 Chairman John V. Cogbill, III Dear Chairman Cogbill: We welcome NCPC’s attempts to establish a Security Master Plan for Washington. However, many organizations with a stake in the plan, including the National Coalition to Save Our Mall, take a summer recess in August and so will not have the opportunity to respond within the 60 day time frame, by September 11. Therefore, we respectfully request that you extend the public comment period another 60 days, or at least 30 to 45 days. While some of the basic principles of the document – e.g., replacing Jersey barriers and unsightly planters with more attractive and people friendly measures – are well founded, others are more problematic. The proliferation of street furniture-as-security threatens to clutter the public right-of-ways and sidewalks. Bollards should not be avoided altogether; in many cases they can provide a simpler yet attractive solution. Historic preservation also appears to get short shrift. The Draft Plan clearly requires a full and informed public discussion and that will only be possible if the public is given more time to prepare comments. In addition, we were troubled to hear at your presentation of the Plan at the July 18 meeting of the Commission of Fine Arts that apparently NCPC will be deferring to the NPS’s plan for the Mall, and in particular NPS’s security measures for the Lincoln and Jefferson memorials and the Washington Monument. The NPS already has proposed controversial plans for the Washington Monument. In addition, in recent weeks NPS has proposed revised plans for the Jefferson and Lincoln memorials which appear to depart from the spirit of the Plan and the design guidelines. Instead of leaving the NPS to develop its own plans, we would urge NCPC to insure that NPS works directly with your staff at every stage of development. Our concerns are based on presentations made by the NPS on July 18. Early that morning NPS displayed a mock-up at the Lincoln Memorial of bollards proposed for placement in front of the Reflecting Pool, up the steps, and across Bacon Drive. Some of the bollards were designed by NPS staff and are not the design scheme proposed by the Olin Partnership, NCPC’s architect for security on the Mall. At the CFA meeting later that morning, the NPS proposed security for Jefferson by landscape architect Jeff Lee that called for closing the parking lot and lining the area with stone bollards, a different scheme from the more historically sensitive wall proposed previously. These developments – and the NPS’s record of undertaking projects that develop piecemeal and often change radically – suggest that instead of pulling back, NCPC should engage NPS directly in working on designs consistent with principles outlined in the Security Plan. We hope that you will review NCPC’s decision on the public comment period, given that most interested organizations and the public are on summer recess and thus unable to prepare comments. We urge you to instead extend the deadline a sufficient period to allow meaningful public involvement in this most important plan for the Nation’s Capital. Sincerely,
cc. Mr. John Nau/ John Fowler ACHP |
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