Washington — A federal commission planning a memorial near the National Mall honoring the late President Dwight D. Eisenhower considered whether to move forward Wednesday with a famed architect’s design after years of controversy surrounding the project.

Earlier this month, architect Frank Gehry’s team presented a revised design for a proposed memorial park following objections from critics and Eisenhower’s family who said the earlier design was too big and extravagant.

The Eisenhower Memorial Commission met Wednesday for the first time in more than a year to consider Gehry’s changes or whether to move the 15-year-old project in a different direction.

No votes were taken, however, because the commission lacked a quorum. Seven lawmakers did not attend the meeting on Capitol Hill, including Sen. Pat Roberts and Sen. Jerry Moran, who have championed the project in the past. Instead the panel will hold an electronic vote by Sept. 24 on how to proceed.

In the revised design, Gehry’s Los Angeles-based team eliminated two large, metal tapestries on the sides of the memorial park, along with some large columns. One long, stainless steel tapestry would remain as a backdrop, depicting the Kansas landscape of Ike’s boyhood home. The park would also include statues of Eisenhower as president and World War II general and inscriptions from some famous speeches.

Gehry has proposed major changes seeking approval for the design from a federal agency that oversees planning for the nation’s capital on Oct. 2, said Brig. Gen. Carl Reddel, the commission’s executive director

“We think there is an opportunity for resolution as we go forward,” Dan Feil, the commission’s executive architect, told commissioners.

But in a letter to the commission this week, Eisenhower’s family said the revised design still doesn’t address their concerns. They said the project should pursue a simpler design without any tapestries or columns — or be completely redesigned.

“Our family is ready to help move this memorial to completion under conditions that can re-energize this effort,” wrote the 34th president’s granddaughters, Anne and Susan Eisenhower.

As an alternative, the Eisenhower commission briefly discussed building only the “core of the Gehry design without any tapestries or columns,” as suggested by the family and California Rep. Darrell Issa, who has weighed in on the project.