Jefferson National Expansion Memorial is currently involved in the production of a General Management Plan and Environmental Impact Statement (GMP). The National Park Service uses GMPs as planning documents that provide blueprints for a 10- to 20-year period, pointing the way toward the future for the individual park site. Prior to this year, the park had been using the 1964 Saarinen/Kiley plan as their GMP, implementing the various phases of the original design for the Gateway Arch and the grounds which surround it. Now that the design is nearly complete, with the exception of the pedestrian connector to downtown, the park decided to move forward to create a GMP to chart the future of the site.
The National Park Service welcomes public input in the GMP process, and prepared a newsletter in June 2008, then hosted two well-attended public comment sessions on June 25 and July 1 on the draft management zones and preliminary alternatives. Approximately 600 people attended the public open houses, and over 700 letters and comment forms (hard copy and electronic) were received as a result of the open houses and Newsletter #1. A second newsletter summarized the public scoping comments, which were posted on the Memorial’s website in September.
On October 21, 2008, a press release announced the National Park Service’s preferred alternative for the GMP. Public input, probable environmental consequences, and costs of the alternatives were thoroughly considered by the planning team in arriving at this preferred alternative. A Draft General Management Plan / Environmental Impact Statement is currently being prepared, and when completed in January will be released to the public for review. Documents related to this planning process are available online at the Memorial’s website, www.nps.gov/jeff. These documents include newsletters, public comment summaries, frequently asked questions, letters, and planning updates from the superintendent. The General Management Plan is a major planning document, taking a great deal of time and deliberation from a number of experts in various fields. The park hopes that the completed GMP will be a useful tool for managers as the Memorial moves into the 21st century.
