华盛顿讯——美国总统唐纳德·特朗普计划在首都建造一座改变天际线的凯旋门，这一方案正面临联邦委员会的再次审查。该委员会的批准是项目推进的必要条件，但委员会工作人员表示，项目在获批前需要修改。
国家首都规划委员会将于周四召开会议，特朗普提出的这座250英尺(约76米)高的凯旋门是会议议程之一。
在一份报告中，该委员会工作人员建议批准凯旋门的初步选址和建筑方案，但同时建议对设计进行调整，以符合联邦法律对华盛顿市中心建筑高度的限制，从而保护这座城市著名的天际线。规划委员会在审批过程中会执行这一法律。
这份185页的报告指出："工作人员建议委员会要求申请人修改项目设计，以符合《建筑高度法》的规定，然后返回国家首都规划委员会进行最终审批。"
报告称，执行该法律"将需要对设计进行修改，重新分配主体结构、可居住屋顶结构和雕像之间的高度"。但报告同时指出，即使按照建议进行修改，这座凯旋门、一个公共观景台以及三座镀金顶部雕像仍将达到特朗普期望的250英尺高度。
工作人员还建议委员们在内政部(负责监管国家公园管理局)返回进行最终审批之前，收集更多关于凯旋门周边交通状况、拟议的花岗岩外观以及项目其他方面的信息。特朗普希望将凯旋门建在从华盛顿特区通往纪念桥弗吉尼亚一侧的一个交通环岛上。
另一个联邦机构——美国美术委员会已于今年5月批准了凯旋门的设计方案。国家首都规划委员会负责监管华盛顿联邦土地上的建设项目，并于今年6月开始审议凯旋门方案。
反对该项目的人士认为，这座凯旋门对天际线来说过于庞大，会破坏林肯纪念堂与阿灵顿国家公墓之间精心设计的视野——这条视线原本旨在象征南北战争后北南双方的重归统一。
然而，反对声音对两个委员会的成员影响甚微，这两个委员会中都包括特朗普的一些亲密盟友。特朗普任命白宫高级助理威尔·沙夫领导规划委员会。
一群退伍军人及一位历史学家已在联邦法院起诉特朗普政府，要求阻止凯旋门建设，理由是担心其破坏视线走廊。
这座凯旋门的高度将是林肯纪念堂(高99英尺，约30米)的两倍多，接近华盛顿纪念碑(高约555英尺，约169米)的一半。
特朗普去年曾表示，凯旋门的建设资金可以使用他声称从企业、捐赠者及其他富豪那里筹集到的数亿美元中的剩余款项——这些资金原本用于在白宫建造一座耗资4亿美元的新宴会厅。
但事实证明，宴会厅项目和凯旋门都将动用部分公共资金。白宫尚未公布凯旋门的成本估算。
Trump's plan for a triumphal arch in the nation's capital is getting another review
WASHINGTON --PresidentDonald Trump'splans to build askyline-altering archin the nation's capital is getting another review from the federal commission whose approval he needs, but the agency's staff says the project should be revised before it gets the go-ahead.
The National Capital Planning Commission is meeting Thursday, and the Republican president's proposed 250-foot (76-meter) arch is one of the items on the agenda.
Ina report, the agency's staff recommends that the commission approve the preliminary site and building plans for the arch. But the staff also recommends that the design be tweaked to comply with a federal law that limits building heights in downtown Washington to preserve the city's famous skyline. The planning commission applies the law during its approval process.
“Staff suggests the Commission request the applicant revise the project design to comply with the Height of Buildings Act and return to NCPC for final approval,” the 185-page report says.
Applying the law "would require design revisions to redistribute the height between the main structure, habitable roof structure and statuary,” the report said. But even with the recommended revisions, the arch, a public observation deck and three gilded topper statues would still reach Trump's desired 250-foot height, the report said.
The staff is also recommending that commissioners seek additional information about vehicular traffic around the arch, the proposed granite exterior and other aspects of the project before the Interior Department, which oversees the park service, returns for final approval. Trump wants to build the arch on a traffic circle on the Virginia side of the Memorial Bridge from the District of Columbia.
The U.S. Commission of Fine Arts, a separate federal agency,approved the designfor the arch in May. The National Capital Planning Commission oversees construction on federal land in the city andbegan reviewing the arch plan in June.
Opponents of the project argue that the arch is too big for the skyline and would disrupt carefully designed views between the Lincoln Memorial and Arlington National Cemetery that were meant to symbolize the reunification of the North and the South after the Civil War.
But the opposition has done little to influence the members of either commission, both of which include some of Trump's closest allies. Trump appointedWill Scharf, a top White House aide, to lead the planning commission.
A group of veterans and a historian have sued the Trump administration in federal court to block the arch construction over concerns about disruptions to the sightline.
The arch would be more than twice as tall as the Lincoln Memorial, which is 99 feet (30 meters) tall, and close to half the height of the Washington Monument, at about 555 feet (169 meters) tall.
Trump had said last year that the arch could be paid for with unused funds from the hundreds of millions of dollars he said he has raised from corporations, donors and other wealthy people to pay to build a new$400 million ballroomat the White House.
But, as it turns out, some public money will be used for the ballroom project, as well as the arch. The White House has not released a cost estimate for the arch.
