WATERVILLE — Those who oppose demolishing an old Catholic church on Elm Street question whether it is morally right to raze the historic structure.

Reginald Doyon, an abutter of St. Francis de Sales Catholic Church, told the Planning Board Monday night that building a three-story housing complex for the elderly next to his house will have a negative impact on his privacy, as well as the light and air he now enjoys on his property.

Additional Photos

FINAL MASS: The Most Rev. Richard J. Malone, center, Bishop of Portland, conducts Communion services during the final Mass in February at St. Francis de Sales Church in Waterville. Some residents aren't happy with plans to demolish the church so that a housing project can be built in its place. Staff file photo by David Leaming

“I’m just trying to raise a family here,” he said. “Nobody in this room would like to have a 40-foot-tall building 20 feet from their house, and mine is a single-family building.”

The Corpus Christi Parish, which owns St. Francis, has tried for about four years to sell the church, which officials said was closed because of a shortage of priests, the high cost of maintaining the building and a declining number of parishioners.

The parish opted to raze the church and build 58 affordable housing units for seniors, with 40 units to be built in a first phase and 18 in a second phase. Construction would start this year with occupancy next year for the first 40 apartments.

“Interestingly enough, we have 50 applicants, even though we haven’t put a shovel in the ground yet,” said David Twomey, treasurer of the Diocesan Bureau of Housing, which is sponsoring the project. Twomey is also chief financial officer for the Roman Catholic Diocese of Portland.

About 50 people turned out for the meeting Monday in the council chambers. By press time Monday, the Planning Board had not taken a vote on whether to approve a final plan for the housing development. Planning Board Chairman David Geller noted that the board must approve the plan if it meets the city’s ordinances.

Geller asked Doyon if he could have a choice whether to have the light and air issue resolved, or the privacy issue, which he would prefer. Doyon said that, “most likely, more the privacy issue.”

Geller asked Pat Carroll, of Carroll Associates Landscape Architects, if evergreens could be extended to increase privacy for Doyon.

“Sure,” said Carroll, who is working on the project for the church.

Geller noted that the city’s zoning ordinance says a building’s height should be restricted to the usefulness of the city’s firefighting equipment. The housing facility would be more than 40 feet high and the city’s firefighting equipment can do the job.

Doyon questioned the church’s decision to build housing that has a negative impact on his home.

“I know it’s legally right to do, but is it morally right?” he asked.

Waterville businessman Charlie Giguere read aloud a three-page statement urging the parish and Portland Diocese to put the project on the back burner until a solution is found that will preserve the historic church. Giguere and his sister, Claire Ocando, circulated a petition to that effect and garnered more than 300 signatures.

French Canadians established themselves in Waterville, despite the Protestant Yankees having a problem with French Canadians’ presence here, Giguere said.

“We were descendants of France and they were descendants of England and the scars of war were still present,” he said.

The French Canadians worked hard, adopted the English language and started businesses, Giguere said. They were intensely Catholic and the church was their unifying factor.

St. Francis was the first Catholic church in the area that dared to sport a steeple, he said.

“This building is a symbol of our then resolve to stay in this area,” he said. “This building is the most significant structure for those of French Canadian descent in greater Waterville.”

He said he realized there was probably no way to stop the project, but he thinks the church should reconsider. French Catholics financially supported the Portland Diocese for more than 150 years, he said.

“We built this church, we supported it, we maintained it because it was so attached to our heritage. Let’s slow down this train.”

Ocando said demolishing a church that is so important to a lot of people has consequences.

“You lose their respect, attendance in church and you lose their dollars even more,” she said.

Mayor Karen Heck said late Monday that she offered, on behalf of the Waterville Main Street program, to facilitate a discussion between the diocese, parish and people interested in the church issue.

Amy Calder — 861-9247

acalder@centralmaine.com

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