Commission Actions
September 4, 2008

Lincoln Memorial-Temporary Vehicle Security Barriers, East Side
(File Number 6265)

At its September 2008 meeting, the National Capital Planning Commission approved preliminary and final site development plans for a temporary vehicle barrier on the east side of the Lincoln Memorial for a period not to exceed two years. The project was submitted by the National Park Service and involves placing a temporary barrier at the outer edge of the Circle on the east side of the memorial, consisting of 43 custom-designed concrete elements. The barrier line is temporary and reversible with each barrier being lifted into place, spaced four feet on center on the pavement surface. The barrier elements feature an exposed aggregate finish to complement the original granite of the approach way to the Memorial.

The temporary vehicle barrier is part of an overall plan for improvements to the Lincoln Memorial including roadway and sidewalk reconstruction, paving, vehicle barriers, a retaining wall, and the construction of two concession buildings.

The Park Service plans to complete the improvements to the plaza and the security barrier construction in time for the bicentennial celebration of President Lincoln’s birth in February 2009.

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Martin Luther King, Jr. National Memorial
(File Number 5907)

The National Capital Planning Commission reviewed and approved preliminary and final site and building plans for the Martin Luther King, Jr. Memorial with the exception of security barriers proposed by the National Park Service to be incorporated into the project. The Commission’s decision to reject the bollards was based in large part on information provided to them during a security briefing that they received prior to the public meeting.

The memorial will be located in West Potomac Park on the northwestern side of the Tidal Basin. The three main design elements of the memorial include the Mountain of Despair, a curved Inscription Wall, and the Stone of Hope featuring the likeness of Dr. King. The Commission’s action on this project constitutes final approval.

The submission for the memorial included a visitor support building, housing public restrooms, a bookstore, and ranger contact station. The Commission disapproved an interior donor wall within the building and required the applicant to remove the feature from the project to bring the project into compliance with requirements of the Commemorative Works Act and the Commission’s policies on donor recognition.

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National Law Enforcement Museum
(File Number 6321)

The Commission approved the final site and building plans for the National Law Enforcement Museum, completing the final stage of the review process for this project. Submitted by the National Law Enforcement Officers Memorial Fund, the largely underground museum will be constructed on federal land within the District of Columbia Courts complex in Judiciary Square.

The museum’s design includes two above-ground entrance pavilions clad in transparent low iron glass, each measuring 52 feet by 77 feet for a total of 7,695 square feet. The museum design also includes a surrounding plaza that will be used by both the museum and the District of Columbia Courts, retaining walls and bollards, glass skylights in the plaza, and landscaped planting beds.

The final plans reflect minor changes to the preliminary site and building plans approved by the Commission at its December 2007 meeting. Changes from the preliminary plans include the removal of two elements: flush translucent pavers from the ramps leading to the Courthouse and two of the three proposed crosswalks across E Street.

The majority of the museum will be constructed below ground under a former parking lot between Court Building C and the United States Court of Appeals for the Armed Forces, as well as below the right-of-way of the 400 block of E Street, NW.

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Federal Capital Improvements Program for the National Capital Region
(File Number 1485)

The Commission reviewed and approved the Federal Capital Improvements Program (FCIP) for the National Capital Region for Fiscal Years 2009-2014. The estimated total cost of agency-submitted projects in this year’s FCIP is $11.6 billion. This year’s FCIP contains 190 projects submitted by 13 agencies.

Project and cost distribution for this year’s FCIP has been shaped by BRAC requirements, building modernizations and new construction proposals for agency consolidation and research and development. Over $2.4 billion of requested funding is for BRAC-related construction projects, most notably at Fort Belvoir, Virginia and the Walter Reed National Military Medical Center in Bethesda, Maryland.

The General Services Administration (GSA) submitted 42 projects representing $4.6 billion in total costs from FYs 2009-2014. While the majority of GSA’s proposed projects involve modernization of existing federal buildings located in the monumental core, the new Department of Homeland Security headquarters at St. Elizabeths represents the biggest request at $1.4 billion.

The greatest number of projects by jurisdiction, 79, was the District of Columbia representing 46 percent, or $5.3 billion, of the total project costs. Virginia has 55 projects representing 29 percent of the total proposed project costs, while Maryland has 54 projects representing 22 percent of total project costs. Once adopted by the Commission, the FCIP will be provided to the Office of Management and Budget.

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Consent Calendar Items are available for review. Consent items are projects that are voted on by the Commission, but for which there are no presentations or public testimony.

Delegated Items are projects that the Commission delegates to the Chairman, Executive Committee, or Executive Director. There are no presentations or public testimony for these items.