Proposed Historic Preservation Rule Changes Could Accelerate Trump’s Monument Plans

The Advisory Council on Historic Preservation voted in favor of preliminary revisions that would narrow the definition of historic places and eliminate requirements for tribal consultation and public comment. The changes still require review by the Office of Management and Budget before publication in the Federal Register.

The Independent

President Donald Trump has appointed more than a third of the council’s 23 members this year, including an architect who worked on his Mar-a-Lago club and several administration officials, according to the Independent. The revised rules could streamline approval for three high-profile projects: a 250-foot “triumphal arch” on Memorial Circle near Arlington National Cemetery, a National Garden of American Heroes in West Potomac Park featuring 250 life-size statues, and a renovation of Washington’s East Potomac Golf Links. All three initiatives are currently facing lawsuits that argue they violate preservation statutes and, in the case of the garden, a congressional ban on new commemorative work in the National Mall area.

The Independent

A White House spokesperson directed inquiries to the Interior Department, which has not responded.

The Independent

• “For us, it felt like a bait and switch,” — Ira Matt, an executive director at the National Association of Tribal Historic Preservation Officers

The Independent

• “The man proposing this was himself a draft dodger,” — Shaun Byrnes

The Independent