Trump administration seeking to rewrite historic preservation rules to smooth way for pet projects

By Sunlen Serfaty, CNN

(CNN) — The Trump administration is quietly moving to revise a decades-old rule governing historic preservation of buildings and landscapes that, if passed, would ease the path for constructing the president’s pet projects in Washington.

The Advisory Council on Historic Preservation, a little-known independent federal agency within the executive branch, is proposing to amend key regulations for implementing the National Historic Preservation Act, CNN has learned.

The 1966 act is the primary federal law that protects historical and archeological sites in the United States. A part of it, Section 106, mandates that federal agencies evaluate the impact of projects on historical properties.

Questions over compliance with this part of the law have been at the heart of legal challenges concerning numerous projects President Donald Trump has sought to push through, including his proposed construction of a “triumphal arch,” putting his name on the Kennedy Center, the renovation of the Lincoln Memorial Reflecting Pool and his proposal to take over the public golf course at East Potomac Park.

But according to an internal email sent last week to ACHP members and obtained by CNN, members are being asked by July 24 to vote on approving changes to rules on how Section 106 is carried out. Critics say the move would curtail the required oversight for projects that could affect sites of historical significance — effectively gutting a significant part of the preservation law.

The message, with “URGENT” in the subject line, noted that votes would need to be submitted by 5 p.m. ET Friday.

“While staff have not provided a summary of this proposed action, members will be given the opportunity to discuss and ask questions before the deadline for final vote,” wrote ACHP Vice Chairman Travis Voyles, who was appointed to the position by Trump in April last year.

The revisions could be hugely consequential for Trump’s quest to put his stamp on Washington by rewriting regulations so that abiding by Section 106 requires less rigorous review and scrutiny. Among the changes being proposed in the revised rules: cutting the requirement for public comment, giving more authority to agencies endeavoring to undertake construction projects and changing timelines for reviews.

The proposal replaces a requirement that projects seek to “avoid, minimize or mitigate” adverse effects on historical sites with one that they take “reasonable mitigation measures.” Also, many of the stipulations to consult with Native Americans regarding religious or historical significance for Indigenous groups is struck out.

Voyles and ACHP did not return CNN’s request for comment. The proposed changes were first reported by The Atlantic.

“On a scale of 1 to 10, it’s a 12 — it’s really shocking,” said Charles Birnbaum of the Cultural Landscape Foundation, a DC-based nonprofit.

“Moving forward, it would give them free rein to do whatever they wanted to do,” Rebecca Miller, executive director of the DC Preservation League, told CNN. “It’s not even a small tweak — it’s a complete gutting of the Section 106 process.”

Both Birnbaum’s and Miller’s organizations have sued the administration, seeking to stop several proposed Trump projects.

Neither the White House nor the Interior Department responded to CNN’s request to comment on the proposed historic preservation rule changes.

Besides Voyles, Trump has named more than half a dozen members to the 24-member ACHP since taking office. The council does not currently have a chairman — a position that requires Senate confirmation.

Previously, the Trump administration fired members of the Commission of Fine Arts and the National Capital Planning Commission — two agencies with oversight on building on DC’s public land — and replaced them with hand-picked members.

It is unclear how quickly the historic preservation rule changes could be implemented, but if approved, the revised language would be sent to the Office of Management and Budget before being subject to a 30-day public comment period and final vote.

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