AUGUSTA — City councilors on Thursday agreed to ban the demolition of historic buildings for the next six months.

The council’s decision, made over the objection of property owners, prohibits for 180 days the destruction of any historic building in the new historic district currently under consideration. The motion passed by a 6-2 vote with Councilors Jeffrey Bilodeau and Daniel Emery voting against it.

“I’d like to thank you for the courage you’re showing in proposing this ordinance,” said Phyllis von Herrlich of the Augusta Historic Preservation Commission, the only member of the public to speak before the council’s vote.

The moratorium goes into effect in 10 days, though city attorney Stephen Langsdorf said before the meeting that state statute prohibits any historic buildings in the proposed district from being destroyed before that.

“For practical purposes it will be effective tonight,” he said.

The moratorium was created, at least in part, in response to an application filed by property owner Motivational Services to demolish a building at 18 Green St. that city assessing records say was built in 1816.

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The building is within the boundaries of the proposed new historic preservation district, which would be created by the proposed new Historic Preservation Ordinance. That proposal is currently under review by the Maine Historic Preservation Commission and has not yet been approved by city councilors.

The proposed Historic Preservation Ordinance would ban the demolition of buildings considered to be “contributing” to the historic district unless the property owner “can demonstrate that it cannot be renovated or reconstructed so as to earn an economic return on its value in its present location as determined by a qualified real estate appraiser.”

The Historic Preservation Commission voted earlier this month to deem the building as potentially historic, which kicked in a 90-day delay period before the demolition permit sought by the owner will be issued. That delay period ends in early January, and the proposed new Historic Preservation Ordinance may not be enacted by then.

“It basically extends the delay period,” Langsdorf said.

Mayor David Rollins said last week the Maine Historic Preservation Commission review of the city’s proposed ordinance could take up to 60 days. Councilors may not take it back up for discussion and a vote until after the new year, and by then it may be too late for the property.

Buildings not deemed historically significant, even those within the proposed new historic district, could still be demolished during the moratorium, Langsdorf said. Buildings that are deemed historically significant could still be destroyed if the city’s code enforcement office determines the buildings pose a risk to public safety.

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“A moratorium is a typical thing a council might use when you’re in the process of working on an ordinance,” Langsdorf said.

While nobody spoke for Motivational Services at Thursday’s meeting, a representative for the organization said at an Oct. 19 Augusta Historic Preservation Commission meeting that they planned to propose a new building to provide housing for people with disabilities on the Green Street site. Motivational Services is a nonprofit corporation that assists adults recovering from mental illness in Kennebec County with housing, employment, education, care coordination and other needs.

The Green Street building has been vacant for several years but was previously used as housing. Robin Veilleux, facilities manager for Motivational Services, told the preservation commission that people were moved out of the building because of health and safety concerns, though the building was not officially declared to be unsafe. She told the commission the estimated cost to rehabilitate the building is prohibitively high.

At-Large City Councilor Dale McCormick, a carpenter and former head of the Maine State Housing Authority, said during a previous meeting that Motivational Services has said it will cost millions to repair the building. McCormick disputed that assertion.

“It would not cost millions,” she said. “I’d say it’d cost less than building a new apartment building.”

Craig Crosby — 621-5642

ccrosby@centralmaine.com

Twitter: @CraigCrosby4


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