No permits or plans have been submitted for the reconstruction of the new gold ballroom at the White House, a project initiated by President Donald Trump during the government shutdown, and a stop-work order has been issued.
Designer Sarah Boardman has spent the past two days on Threads, sounding the alarm that in a normal world, the National Capital Planning Commission would be in "charge of the construction, preservation, and all plans for the White House."
Boardman pointed out, "They do not have permission yet, and this is one of the agencies that is closed due to the shutdown. They absolutely did this on purpose."
"I just looked up all the permit records for the White House. There are none for this ballroom abomination. There are no applications. And it clearly says that we own this building," Boardman wrote on Threads with screen captures of the website.
Reuters and The Guardian also picked up on it, noting that the White House announced it would submit the plans to the planning commission only after the demolition began.
"White House officials insist demolition is allowed without the commission’s approval," said The Guardian. "Will Scharf, the Trump-appointed head of the commission, who is also a White House staff secretary, said in September there was a difference between demolition and rebuilding work, and only the commission can approve new construction."
She also looked up specific permits the construction company itself has pulled for the area, and there is no permit listed under their name for 1600 Pennsylvania Ave.
Her screen capture (below) also showed that there is a "stop work order" and "notices" on the East Wing construction.
In July, Trump quietly appointed three of his own people to the Commission, the Daily Beast noted on Wednesday.
"Trump’s decision to appoint his own loyalists to the agency is likely to exacerbate concerns about the lack of transparency surrounding the ballroom renovation, which critics have described as a 'presidential vanity project,'" the Beast reported.
As Boardman explained in her version of a "fast timeline," the "drawings, planning, permissions, permitting" usually take "2-3 years," but those are only during normal projects.
The designer said that asbestos remediation would likely take six months to a year, though it doesn't appear to be part of the project.
Given that it is a public and historic project involving hazardous materials, the typical timeline is four to five years, Boardman continued. This is because the project would undergo public discussion, and preparation would likely require at least two years to ensure that both the workers and materials are vetted for safety.
The National Trust for Historic Preservation, which The Guardian explained is "a leading historic preservation non-profit created by Congress," sent a letter to the White House saying that demolition plans are “legally required” to go through public review. The group "urged" the president to pause his teardown.
“We are deeply concerned that the massing height of the proposed new construction will overwhelm the White House itself – it is 55,000 sq ft – and may also permanently disrupt carefully balanced classical design of the White House with its two smaller, and lower, East and West Wings,” the letter says.
Trump said over the summer, when he announced the project, that the East Wing of the White House would not be touched. A bulldozer began tearing down the walls on Monday, however.
"Attention \u2014 There are Notices or Stop Work Orders on this Property" reads public permit website from Washington, D.C. (Photo: screen capture via Sarah Boardman)
