Record of Determination for a Partial and Temporary Closure of Portions of Lafayette Park and the White House Sidewalk for Lafayette Park Restoration Construction Project

Pursuant to 36 C.F.R. § 1.5 (a), the National Park Service is temporarily and partially closing various portions of Lafayette Park and the White House Sidewalk on Pennsylvania Avenue N.W. for construction and turf renovation related to a major rehabilitation of Lafayette Park for America’s semiquincentennial. Specifically, the project will begin at approximately 5:00 a.m. on Monday, January 19, 2026 and continue through approximately 6:00 p.m. on Sunday, May 31, 2026. As the construction begins, all but a portion of the Northwest quadrant of Lafayette Park will be closed. Additionally due to the impact of this construction project and the East Wing Modernization project in the same general area, the need to provide a protected and secured route for White House tour and event guests to access the site, as well as to provide means for emergency evacuation of the area, the White House sidewalk between East Executive Avenue, N.W. and West Executive Avenue, N.W. will be closed beginning approximately 5:00 a.m. on Monday, January 19, 2026 and continue through approximately 6:00 p.m. on Sunday, May 31, 2026. Closures of the various parts of Lafayette Park and the White House sidewalk will be identified by fencing and signage. Violation is prohibited.

This temporary and partial closure is necessary for public safety and the protection of environmental or scenic values and the protection of both natural and cultural resources during construction, which will include installing irrigation lines, repairing the park’s historic fountains, installing new pumping systems and associated fountain vaults, tree replacement, installation of hardscape in certain locations, replacement of park benches, and turf replacement,. Less restrictive measures will not suffice because of the necessity to ensure the functional operation of the park’s historic ornamental fountains, as well as the proper horticultural installation, stabilization, and development of new turf within these areas of Lafayette Park. The project is being advanced as expeditiously as possible at this time to reduce impacts on public use of the park during the peak visitation season, which would be the case if a more time-consuming phased approach to construction were used. It is not of a nature, magnitude, and duration that will result in a “significant alteration in the public use pattern” because of the limited closure period and because a portion of the park will remain open.

The closure of these areas during the construction project has been concurrently requested by the United States Secret Service in a letter dated January 16, 2026 and incorporated by reference. The letter indicates that these temporary restrictions are necessary to provide a secure staging and construction area as well as a secure perimeter with sufficient stand-off distance to protect the public and construction crews during the Lafayette Park Restoration construction project.

These requests are due to serious concerns about security for construction equipment and prior vandalism associated with public protests in recent years, where construction material was used to vandalize resources in Lafayette Park and endanger officers and members of the public.

It is anticipated that this construction project will require use and on-site storage of hazardous equipment including heavy machinery such as forklifts, large delivery trucks, and like mobile vehicles; power tools such as power saws, powerdrills, pneumatic nailers, kinetic tools; hazardous materials such as generators and light towers containing large amounts of combustible fuels; and construction material such as pieces of wood, metal, nails, screws, and like materials utilized in construction projects. These items, if unsecured, pose a danger to the public.

The temporary restrictions are also necessary to permit the United States Secret Service to perform security sweeps of the area and, once construction is completed, allow time for them toproperly inspect the construction area for the safety of Secret Service protectees. Furthermore, these temporary restrictions will also facilitate the delivery of materials into the workspace and provide a safe and secure environment during construction.

Because the construction and associated activities do not reasonably permit multiple occupancy of the impacted areas, the general public will not be allowed in the closed fenced sections of Lafayette Park. Once any areas are fenced and closed, persons should immediately remove themselves and any personal property from the closed area. This temporary and partial closure is not of a nature, magnitude and duration that will result in a “significant alteration in the public use pattern.” Indeed, a portion of Lafayette Park will remain open during the period of the project as well as nearby park areas will remain open to the public and for demonstration activities.

The closure will not adversely affect the park’s natural, aesthetic or cultural values; nor require significant modification to the resource management objections; nor is it of a highly controversial nature, due to its limited duration and the NPS’s efforts to keep as much of the park open as possible. Accordingly, the National Park Service determines publication as rulemaking in the Federal Register is unwarranted under 36 C.F.R. § 1.5(b). This is consistent with hundreds of earlier partial and temporary park closures or public use limitations, the legal opinion of the Office of the Solicitor, and judicial adjudications. Mahoney v. Norton, No. 02-1715 (D.D.C. August 29, 2002), plaintiff’s emergency motion for injunction pending appeal denied Mahoney v. Norton, No. 02-5275 (D.C. Cir. September 9, 2002) (per curiam); Picciotto v. United States, No. 99-2113 (D.D.C. August 6, 1999); Picciotto v. United States, No. 94-1935 (D.D.C. September 9, 1994); Picciotto v. Lujan, No. 90-1261 (D.D.C. May 30, 1990); Picciotto v. Hodel, No. 87-3290 (D.D.C. January 26, 1988); Spiegel v.Babbitt, 855 F.Supp. 402 (D.D.C. 1994), aff'd in part w/o op. 56 F.3d 1531 (D.C. Cir. 1995), reportedin full, 1995 US App. Lexis 15200 (D.C. Cir. May 31, 1995).

Pursuant to 36 C.F.R. § 1.7, notice of this temporary and partial closure will be made through media advisories, maps, and by posting at conspicuous locations in the affected park areas. Finally, pursuant to 36 C.F.R. § 1.5(c), this determination is available to the public upon request.

/s/
John Stanwich,
NPS Liaison to the White House
National Capital Region

January 17, 2026