December 28, 2007
Dear Coalition Friends,
Happy New Year! And great news. With your generous support, we have matched the 2:1 challenge grant from the Summit Fund of Washington and Roger and Vicki Sant and will start 2008 on solid financial footings.
Along with the end of the year and the holiday season comes news of two important projects--involving public meetings in early January--that need the attention of all of us who care about the present and future well-being of the National Mall.
1. The Smithsonian Institution has released a draft Environmental Impact Statement (EIS) for the future National Museum of African American History and Culture to be located on the National Mall. A public hearing to discuss the EIS will be held January 10, 2008, at the Nan Tucker McEvoy Auditorium in the Donald W. Reynolds Center for American Art and Portraiture (until recently the National Museum of American Art and National Portrait Gallery) at 8th and G Streets NW. Read the EIS and more about the meeting here.
The Smithsonian draft EIS comes at the end of a series of public consultation meetings involving government agencies, review bodies, and nonprofit groups where serious questions and concerns have been raised, most having to do with trying to fit a substantial new building on the sensitive location on the National Mall at the foot of the Washington Monument.
2. The National Park Service, which announced in September 2007 that it is preparing an Environmental Impact Statement (EIS) for its plan for the National Mall and for Pennsylvania Avenue, has issued a press release seeking "consulting parties" to the public consultation process and announcing three meetings to discuss the "preferred alternatives" now under study. Portions of the press release with relevant addresses and links are copied below. The Coalition has sent a request for consulting party status and we encourage other interested groups to apply.
You will recall that in September we sent out an update welcoming the NPS's decision to prepare an EIS for its Mall Plan because of the significance of this national treasure. You can read that update here .
The NPS has scheduled three 4-hour meetings during which it proposes to discuss with the public its three alternative concepts--January 8th, 9th, and 12th, in the Old Post Office Building in downtown Washington.
The planning document, "Making Choices for the Future of the National Mall and Pennsylvania Avenue National Historic Park," can be viewed and downloaded here, click on "Newsletter 3, with low resolution maps." Public comments are solicited at this link.
The NPS states that its proposed alternatives for the Mall were developed based on the NPS's November 2006 symposium where it officially announced the Plan and from 5,000 comments received on its website, 4,000 of which responded to the questionnaire posted on the website. NPS planner Susan Spain also has been meeting with federal and DC agencies. The January meetings will include displays of the NPS's proposed three alternatives for public comment.
So far, however, the NPS has not scheduled or held any substantive, sit-down-around-the-table public consultation meetings of the kind typically associated with Mall planning projects--such as the Smithsonian's consultations or those convened by the NPS for the Vietnam Veterans Memorial Visitor Center or Lincoln Memorial security projects--which allow government agencies and the public to exchange ideas and viewpoints in a collaborative way. Among topics that still need clarification as the process moves forward are why the National Mall and Pennsylvania Avenue are included in a single planning process, and why substantial portions of the Mall are not included in the "National Mall Plan."
Below is the relevant contact and meeting information from the NPS website. To read the NPS press release, go here .
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From the National Park Service website:
Should you desire to participate as a consulting party, please submit your expression of interest in writing to:
The National Mall Plan
NPS-DSC-P
12795 W Alameda Parkway,
Denver CO 80225-0287
January 2008 Alternatives Discussion Meetings
Planning meetings will be held on January 8, 9 and 12 at the Old Post Office Tower, 1100 Pennsylvania Avenue., N.W., Washington. D.C. All meetings will be held in room M09 on the Mezzanine level. These meetings will have displays of the alternatives illustrated in the newsletter #3, but will include a focused discussion on topics of interest. Meeting notes will be taken and used in planning. The meeting on January 9 will focus specifically on historic preservation and section 106 consultations.
Tuesday, January 8, 2008 4:00 p.m.to 8:00 p.m.
Discussion Topic (starting at 5 p.m.): Unifying Design Elements, Visitor Facilities, and Relocation of the Washington Monument Food and Gifts Facility
Wednesday, January 9, 2008, 12 noon to 4:00 p.m.
Discussion Topic (starting at 1 p.m.): Historic Preservation/Section 106 - Cultural Resources, Landscapes, and Character; Views and Viewshed Protection; Nighttime Lighting and Character; Archeological and Ethnographic Resources and Interests
Saturday, January 12, 2008, 10:00 a.m. to 2:00 p.m.
Discussion Topic (starting at 11 a.m.): Recreation, Events, and Circulation
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