99–010

Calendar No. 178

107TH CONGRESS REPORT

1st Session " ! SENATE 107–76

WILLIAM HOWARD TAFT NATIONAL HISTORIC SITE

BOUNDARY ADJUSTMENT ACT OF 2001

OCTOBER 1, 2001.—Ordered to be printed

Mr. BINGAMAN, from the Committee on Energy and Natural

Resources, submitted the following

REPORT

[To accompany H.R. 1000]

The Committee on Energy and Natural Resources, to which was

referred the Act (H.R. 1000) to adjust the boundary of the William

Howard Taft National Historic Site in the State of Ohio, to authorize an exchange of land in connection with the historic site, and for

other purposes, having considered the same, reports favorably

thereon without amendment and recommends that the Act do pass.

PURPOSE

The purpose of H.R. 1000 is to adjust the boundary of the William Howard Taft National Historic Site in Ohio to authorize an

exchange of two parcels of less than one acre of land and to authorize the further acquisition of another 3⁄4-acre parcel in conjunction

with the historic site.

BACKGROUND AND NEED

The William Howard Taft National Historic Site, situated in a

designated historic district in the Mount Auburn section of Cincinnati, Ohio, is the only memorial to Taft, who served as both

President of the United States and as Chief Justice of the Supreme

Court. The site, which includes Taft’s home for the first 29 years

of his life, has been a unit of the National Park System since 1969.

Public Law 91–132, the enabling legislation, established the site to

‘‘preserve in public ownership historically significant properties associated with the life of William Howard Taft.’’

H.R. 1000 would amend the boundary of the historic site to include two contiguous parcels of land. With respect to the first parcel, the Act authorizes a land exchange that would benefit both the

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historic site and the surrounding Mount Auburn community. A

parking lot of less than one acre of land which is currently part of

the Taft site would be transferred to the SABIS International

School of Cincinnati (SABIS), a private educational institution in

Cincinnati. The parking lot is better situated to access the SABIS

school than the Taft site. In return, SABIS would transfer another

tract of land of less than one acre to the Taft site, which could be

developed as a parking lot, and is closer to the historic site than

the existing lot. This exchange would benefit both the SABIS school

and the national historic site.

H.R. 1000 also expands the boundary of the national historic site

to include a second contiguous parcel of land comprising approximately three-fourth of an acre. This property includes a building

where the Park Service has rented office space for the last 18

years. The property has been identified in the park’s master plan

as land that would further the park’s mission.

SUMMARY OF H.R. 1000

H.R. 1000 authorizes adjustments to the boundary of the William

Howard Taft National Historic Site. The Act authorizes both an exchange of two parcels of less than one acre of land with the SABIS

school, and the acquisition of another 3⁄4-acre parcel. The Secretary

of the Interior is authorized to acquire the 3⁄4-acre property by donation, purchase from willing sellers with donated or appropriated

funds, or by exchange. If the values of the parcels to be exchanged

are not equal, the difference may be equalized by a donated, payment using donated or appropriated funds, or the conveyance of additional land.

LEGISLATIVE HISTORY

H.R. 1000, introduced by Representative Portman, was passed by

the House on June 6, 2001. A companion measure, S. 921, was introduced by Senator DeWine on May 21, 2001. The Subcommittee

on National Parks held a hearing on both bills on July 27, 2001.

At its business meeting on August 2, 2001, the Committee on Energy and Natural Resources ordered H.R. 1000 favorably reported

without amendment.

COMMITTEE RECOMMENDATION

The Senate Committee on Energy and Natural Resources, in

open business session on August 2, 2001, by a voice vote of a

quorum present, recommends that the Senate pass H.R. 1000 as

described herein.

COST AND BUDGETARY CONSIDERATIONS

The following estimate of the costs of this measure has been provided by the congressional budget office:

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U.S. CONGRESS, CONGRESSIONAL BUDGET OFFICE, Washington, DC, August 10, 2001.

Hon. JEFF BINGAMAN,

Chairman, Committee on Energy and Natural Resources, U.S. Senate, Washington, DC.

DEAR MR. CHAIRMAN: The Congressional Budget Office has prepared the enclosed cost estimate for H.R. 1000, the William Howard Taft National Historic Site Boundary Adjustment Act of 2001.

If you wish further details on this estimate, we will be pleased

to provide them. The CBO staff contact is Deborah Reis.

Sincerely,

ROBERT A. SUNSHINE

(For Dan L. Crippen, Director).

Enclosure.

CONGRESSIONAL BUDGET OFFICE COST ESTIMATE

H.R. 1000—William Howard Taft National Historic Site Boundary

Adjustment Act of 2001

H.R. 1000 would revise the boundary of the William Howard Taft

National Historic Site (Taft NHS). Assuming appropriation of the

necessary amounts, CBO estimates that implementing the legislation would cost the federal government between $0.9 million and

$1.4 million over the next three years. Because the legislation also

could affect receipts, pay-as-you-go procedures would apply, but we

expect any change in receipts would be insignificant.

The legislation contains no intergovernmental or private-sector

mandates as defined in the unfunded Mandates Reform Act and

would have no significant impact on the budgets of state, local, or

tribal governments.

H.R. 1000 would expand the boundary of the TAFT NHS to include a small parcel of contiguous land, which the National Park

Service (NPS) could then acquire by purchase, donation, or exchange. The legislation also would authorize the NPS to acquire an

additional contiguous property in exchange for a similarly sized

tract within the Taft NHS. The site’s boundary would then be

redrawn to reflect the transfer. Any difference in the values of the

two properties could be equalized by a donation to the government

from the current property owner, or by a cash payment to the party

from the NPS.

Based on information provided by the NPS and assuming appropriation of the necessary amounts, CBO estimates that the cost of

acquiring the property added to the Taft NHS by the legislation

would be between $0.7 million and $1.2 million over the next three

years. Because a cash equalization payment would be authorized

by the legislation, pay-as-you-go procedures would apply. We expect

that the exchange for the second parcel of land would have no significant effect on the federal budget, however, because the properties are similar in value. CBO estimates that additional costs to

develop the property that would be acquired under H.R. 1000

would total $0.2 million over the next three years, and that annual

costs to administer the new lands would be minimal.

On May 24, 2001, CBO transmitted a cost estimate for H.R. 1000

as ordered reported by the House Committee on Resources on May

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16, 2001. Both versions of the legislation are identical, as are our

cost estimates.

The staff contact for this estimate is Deborah Reis. The estimate

was approved by Robert A. Sunshine, Assistant Director for Budget

Analysis.

REGULATORY IMPACT EVALUATION

In compliance with paragraph 11(b) of rule XXVI of the Standing

Rules of the Senate, the Committee makes the following evaluation

of the regulatory impact which would be incurred in carrying out

H.R. 1000. The Act is not a regulatory measure in the sense of imposing government-established standards or significant responsibilities on private individuals and businesses.

No personal information would be collected in administering the

program. Therefore, there would be no impact on personal privacy.

Little, if any, additional paperwork would result from the enactment of H.R. 1000.

EXECUTIVE COMMUNICATIONS

On July 27, 2001, the Committee on Energy and Natural Resources requested legislative reports from the Department of the

Interior and the Office of Management and Budget setting forth

Executive agency recommendations on H.R. 1000. These reports

had not been received at the time this report was filed. The testimony provided by the National Park Service at the Subcommittee

hearing follows:

STATEMENT OF JOHN PARSONS, ASSOCIATE REGIONAL DIRECTOR, LANDS, RESOURCES, AND PLANNING, NATIONAL

CAPITAL REGION, NATIONAL PARK SERVICE, DEPARTMENT

OF THE INTERIOR

Mr. Chairman, thank you for the opportunity to appear

before the Subcommittee to present the position of the Department of the Interior on H.R. 1000, and S. 921, bills to

adjust the boundary and authorize an exchange of certain

lands at William Howard Taft National Historic Site located in Cincinnati, Ohio. The Department of the Interior

supports these bills.

With one minor exception of a technical nature, H.R.

1000 and S. 921 are identical bills. H.R. 1000 was the subject of a hearing before the House Subcommttee on National Parks, Recreation, and Public Lands, on April 26,

2001. At the hearing the witness for the Department of the

Interior, NPS Associate Director Katherine H. Stevenson,

recommended several amendments to the bill that would

enable it to better address the needs of the William Howard Taft National Historic Site. One of these amendments

would allow the Park Service to purchase one of the properties involved in the bill with appropriated funds, the

other two proposed amendments were primarily technical

in nature. The House Resources Committee adopted these

amendments and reported the bill out of committee on

May 16, 2001. The bill was passed by the House on June

6, 2001. With one technical exception which would be corVerDate 11-MAY-2000 15:09 Oct 03, 2001 Jkt 099010 PO 00000 Frm 00004 Fmt 6659 Sfmt 6969 E:\HR\OC\SR076.XXX pfrm04 PsN: SR076
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rected by the amendment proposed at the conclusion of

this testimony, S. 921 is identical to the House-passed

version of H.R. 1000, and was introduced in the Senate on

May 21, 2001.

The William Howard Taft National Historic Site, situated in a designated Historic District of the Mount Auburn

section of Cincinnati, Ohio, is the only memorial to William Howard Taft, the nation’s 27th President and 10th

Chief Justice of the United States. William Howard Taft

lived at the property that became the historic site from his

birth in 1857 until his marriage to Helen ‘‘Nellie’’ Herron,

in 1886. The Taft family sold the property in 1889.

This unit of the National Park System was established

by Public Law 91–132 on December 2, 1969. The site was

established specifically to ‘‘preserve in public ownership

historically significant properties associated with the life of

William Howard Taft.’’ Prior to the establishment of the

historic site the William Howard Taft Memorial Association began efforts to acquire and restore the Taft family

home. In 1963 the association leased part of the house and

began to restore it. In 1968 the association bought the

property. In 1969 the home and its 1⁄2 acre of land was

transferred to the United States Government. In 1972 an

additional 1⁄3 acre of adjacent land was cleared of an existing apartment building and also donated to the Government by the William Howard Taft Memorial Association.

H.R. 1000 and S. 921 would redraw the boundary of the

Taft historic site to include two parcels of land that are

presently contiguous to the site. The inclusion of these

tracts within the site would benefit park visitors by giving

them easier access to the site, and by enabling the Park

Service to better tell the story associated with the site. In

addition, these bills would benefit the local community of

Mount Auburn, as it would authorize the National Park

Service to transfer a tract of land to a leading private educator of Cincinnati, the SABIS International School of Cincinnati (SABIS). This tract would enable SABIS, which operates a school across the street from the site, to better

carry out its educational mission.

The Taft Historic Site is bordered by Southern Avenue

on the north, Auburn Avenue on the west, Young Street on

the east, and Bodman Avenue on the south. The primary

attractions for visitors are the Taft Home, and the Taft

Education Center, which are both accessed from Auburn

Avenue. However, to reach the Home or the Education

Center, visitors must park along either heavily trafficked

Auburn Avenue, or at the NPS parking lot, which is at the

other end of the block, at the corner of Young Street and

Southern Avenue. This lot is situated between two tracts

owned by SABIS, and across the street from other land

owned by SABIS. Thus, the lot is far more convenient for

faculty, and parents of students attending the SABIS

school, than it is for Taft site visitors.

H.R. 1000 and S. 921 would enable the National Park

Service to transfer this land to SABIS, which would enVerDate 11-MAY-2000 15:09 Oct 03, 2001 Jkt 099010 PO 00000 Frm 00005 Fmt 6659 Sfmt 6969 E:\HR\OC\SR076.XXX pfrm04 PsN: SR076
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hance SABIS’s ability to serve the community. In exchange, SABIS would transfer to the National Park Service a tract of land that it owns along Southern Avenue.

The National Park Service would then develop part of this

land into a parking lot, which would enable visitors to

park one-half block closer to the Taft Home and Education

Center than the present lot allows. The National Park

Service would allow another part of this land to revert to

the same character it possessed during the Taft years of

1857 to 1899—green space. The National Park Service

would also develop a handicapped accessible walking trail

connecting to the site on part of this land to give visitors

a better feel for how this land influenced the life of William Howard Taft. The bills also provide that if a real estate appraisal shows the NPS tract to be of a different

value than the SABIS tract, additional funds or land may

be used to equalize the transaction.

These bills would also bring within the park’s boundary

another tract, approximately three-fourths of an acre that

is located at the intersection of Southern and Auburn Avenues. This property presently contains a residential building with 40 apartments. For the past 18 years the National Park Service has rented administrative office space

in this building. The parking lot for this building, which

includes a Park Service easement, was brought within the

boundary of the park by a 1981 boundary modification.

Over the last 15 years, this tract has come up for sale on

two occasions. Both times the NPS wanted to acquire the

property, but was unable to submit an offer because the

property was not within the park boundary. This property

has been identified in the master plan for the park as land

that would further the mission of the park. While the National Park Service does not have definitive plan for the

use of this property at present, the tract could be used for

a variety of purposes that would further the park mission.

In determining the best use for this tract we would examine several alternatives, including using it to improve access to the site because of its location as a corner lot, and

its potential for parking spaces; using it to aid us in telling

the William Howard Taft story, as at least part of it could

be restored to a condition similar to that which existed

during the Taft years; and using at least part of it for administrative space, which would help the park carry out its

business. H.R. 1000 and S. 921 would give the National

Park Service the authority to buy this property when it

goes on the market in the future. Any potential modifications to the property would be accomplished only after consultation and collaboration with all identified stakeholders.

While the two tracts of land that would be brought into

the historic site by H.R. 1000 and S. 921 were no part of

the original Taft estate, their acquisition would be consistent with the historic site’s enabling legislation, which

provides that the purpose of the site is to ‘‘preserve in public ownership historically significant properties associated

with the life of William Howard Taft.’’ These tracts are

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portions of land that was contiguous to the Taft property

during the time William Howard Taft resided at the site,

and are therefore historically significant properties associated with the life of William Howard Taft. In addition,

these properties take on even greater significance in light

of the fact that a large piece of the original Taft estate

that fronts Bodman Avenue will in all likelihood never be

available to the Park Service. Hamilton County constructed several buildings on this site in 1995, which it

uses for a juvenile detention center. Thus, the acquisition

of the tracts involved in H.R. 1000 and S. 921 may represent the last chance the Park Service has to deal with

encroaching urban development that impedes its ability to

carry out its mission at the historic site. Their acquisition

is also consistent with the park’s 1981 Master Plan, which

provides for the preservation of ‘‘those elements from the

historic period’’, and states that the park shall ‘‘provide the

appropriate opportunities for visitor use’’ and ‘‘coordinate

area planning and management activities with those of

neighboring communities to attain mutual objectives’’. The costs to the treasury associated with the two land

transactions involved in H.R. 1000 and S. 921 are expected

to be minimal. The annual operating costs that the Park

Service would incur in taking over the SABIS parking lot

would be offset by the costs the Park Service would forgo

as a result of conveying the parking lot at Young Street

and Southern Avenue to SABIS. The Park Service would

incur nominal costs in developing a parking lot and walking trail along this property of approximately $65,000. Additionally, the government would not incur any significant

cost in carrying out this land exchange, as the both properties are substantially equal in value.

The property at Southern and Auburn Avenues has been assessed at $505,000. The level of operational costs associated with this site is unclear at this time because we do

not have a definitive plan for the use of this property.

As noted above, S. 921 differs from the House-passed

version of H.R. 1000 in one technical respect. To correct

this oversight, the word ‘‘Historic’’ should be inserted prior

to ‘‘Site’’ on page 2, line 6, of the bill.

This concludes my testimony. I would be happy to answer any of our questions.

CHANGES IN EXISTING LAW

In compliance with paragraph 12 of rule XXVI of the Standing

Rules of the Senate, the Committee notes that no changes in existing law are made by the Act H.R. 1000 as ordered reported.

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