Trump's arch clears another hurdle, setting up a big debate: Do height limits apply?
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There is a lingering myth that height limits were created to protect views of the Washington Monument. In fact, they were borne out of more practical considerations, said Elizabeth Morton, a planning and urban design consultant who lectures at George Washington University.

In the 1890s, the city completed its first residential skyscraper, a 164-foot behemoth called the Cairo.

"That aroused a lot of concern from neighbors, both about fears of blocking light and air and also there were concerns — which were legitimate at the time in American cities at the time — about safety and the ability of firefighting equipment to actually reach the full height of those buildings," Morton said.

In response, Congress, which directly governed D.C. at the time, passed the first Height of Buildings Act in 1899, which exempted federal buildings from the limits. It passed a revised version in 1910, changing some of the height limits and quietly removing that exemption.

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