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November 12, 2003

National Coalition to Save Our Mall Calls for Re-Assessment of National Park Service Project in Light of Congressional Action, Outstanding Legal Issues

Coalition Seeks Public Consultation Process, Full Consideration of Options for Washington Monument Grounds’ Future

Washington, D.C. – Today, the National Coalition to Save Our Mall called for a halt to further construction on the Washington Monument grounds and for the opening of a public dialogue regarding options for the Monument site. The Coalition opposes plans to build an above and below ground visitor center and tunnel on the Monument grounds, and also opposes plans to provide vehicle security to the Monument by replacing open space with barricade walls. Although Congress has acted to curtail funding to the tunnel aspect of the project (and the Park Service has announced it will not build the tunnel immediately), the plan as a whole remains in force: the Park Service has erected 10 foot high construction fences in preparation for work on the barrier walls.

The Coalition called for a common-sense alternative that would be environmentally sound and visually less intrusive. “Placing barrier walls in the middle of the grassy open space makes no sense,” said Judy Scott Feldman, chair of the Coalition. “Instead of walls on the grass, where they will block pedestrian movement and be a safety hazard during large gatherings, the barrier system should be placed along the perimeter, at sidewalk level, just like everywhere else in Washington.”

The National Coalition to Save Our Mall is a nonprofit corporation that represents professional and civic organizations, historians, and concerned citizens for the protection and preservation of the National Mall in Washington, D.C. Its aim is to preserve the Mall's historical and cultural integrity, its open spaces and sweeping vistas, and its significance in American public life, and to promote planning that would enhance its place as a vibrant public space.

In the Coalition’s view, a number of factors counsel for a re-assessment of the Park Service’s plans for the Washington Monument and its grounds, including:

• The Coalition believes that the Commemorative Works Act of 1986 (“CWA”) applies to the Park Service’s planned modifications. Accordingly, the Park Service should not only perform the consultation required under the CWA, but follow its substantive provisions which call for the preservation of open space and the integrity of the L’Enfant and McMillan plans.
  
  
• The Coalition believes that recent Congressional action to curtail the funding for the underground tunnel aspect of the Park Service’s plan necessitates re-evaluation of the entire plan. The Environmental Assessment performed to evaluate the Park Service’s plan has become obsolete due to the deferred status of the underground tunnel. Moreover, the Environmental Assessment contains serious flaws that must be addressed before further work is undertaken.
  
  
• The Coalition believes that the contract governing the project's construction also must be re-assessed. The work is being performed as an "add on" to the contract governing the restoration of the monument structure which took place over three years ago, and was not submitted to a new, open competition between contractors as required by law. The Coalition respectfully requests that a new competition be held as one part of a renewed process for securing the Washington Monument grounds.
  
  
• The Coalition is a party to a Programmatic Agreement between the National Park Service, the National Capital Planning Commission, and other local bodies and organizations formed to fulfill the Park Service’s obligations under Section 106 of the National Historic Preservation Act. In such role, the Coalition has authored numerous letters and memoranda identifying problematic aspects of the Park Service’s plan for the Washington Monument. The Coalition respectfully requests that its alternative proposals be given due consideration.

The Coalition believes that a new, open consultation process is the only way to address the legitimate concerns of citizens, preservation and watchdog groups – and Congress. Such a process must fully consider all viable alternatives worthy of the historic significance of the Washington Monument and its grounds, yet facilitate their day-to-day use by Washington area residents and visitors alike.

“Security at this icon to our first president should be a model of how we as a nation respond to the post-9/11 world, and it should be a matter of public discussion and general agreement,” said Feldman. “Barricading this great symbol behind fences and walls is the wrong thing to do. We can – we must – do better.”

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