US President Donald Trump's proposed triumphal arch would have "adverse" effects on dozens of historic landmarks, according to a National Park Service report released Friday, according to CNN.
Despite those impacts, the agency concluded that the arch should remain at its proposed site on the Potomac River because the project is "inherently location dependent" and "not interchangeable" with another location.
"A relocated arch elsewhere in Washington, DC or Virginia would constitute a materially different commemorative project," the report said. "For this reason, alternative locations outside Memorial Circle are not reasonable avoidance alternatives."
The 133-page report found that the arch would alter the "design continuity" of iconic Washington settings and change views of nearby monuments. At least three dozen historic landmarks would be affected, with the most serious "adverse" effects concentrated on six sites, including Arlington National Cemetery, the Lincoln Memorial corridor and Arlington House, the former home of Robert E. Lee.
The proposed site is Memorial Circle, an island in the Potomac River directly across from Arlington National Cemetery in Virginia and the Lincoln Memorial in Washington, D.C.
"The same characteristics that make Memorial Circle sensitive from a preservation perspective are also the characteristics that make it the historically appropriate location for the undertaking," NPS said.
"The project's effects therefore could not be fully avoided without either relocating the Arch away from the historically identified site or eliminating the principal commemorative feature, both of which would fail to meet the undertaking's purpose and need."
The National Park Service considered alternatives including a smaller arch, relocating the structure, abandoning the project and removing the proposed statues on top. None were adopted because they would either have "greater impacts to historic properties or would not meet the location-dependent purpose of the undertaking."
The report proposed measures to "mitigate" the arch's effects, including programs for nearby parks and historic areas. However, it acknowledged that "mitigation measures that document, interpret, or compensate for adverse effects after they occur do not negate an adverse effect finding."
