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Portland is still on track to become the first city in the country to require deconstruction of some structures.

The Portland City Council on Wednesday heard arguments from representatives of the building industry as well as supporters of historic preservation, and in the end remained committed to an Oct. 31 implementation date for a policy that would require deconstruction of structures built in 1916 or earlier and those designated historic.

鈥淭he historic resolution adopted by the City Council is tremendously exciting for us,鈥� said Stephen Reichard, executive director of the ReBuilding Center in Portland.

The Deconstruction of Buildings Law, sponsored by Mayor Charlie Hales, is intended to increase salvage of valuable materials, reduce emissions and landfill waste and minimize other adverse effects of standard demolition, such as dust and noise. The Bureau of Planning and Sustainability will have to report back to the council within the first six to 12 months the law is in effect.

Some people who testified at Wednesday’s rule-making session asked the council to push up the cutoff date from 1916, to include more buildings. Others from the building community said October was too soon for implementation.

Paul Grove of the Home Builders Association can accept the ordinance; however, he expressed concern about a possible insufficiency of firms certified by the city to perform deconstruction. He said the practice could also add to the cost of projects, and thus, the cost of homes.

鈥淚 think the last thing we want is to raise housing prices,鈥� he said.

Under the , after October, some projects in Portland will require certified firms to carry out deconstruction. The city will offer training in July.

Deconstruction 鈥� i.e., taking apart a structure with an eye toward reuse of materials 鈥� doesn’t require special equipment or skills, and most demolition-focused firms can perform either process for a client. But because of the time required for deconstruction, the practice usually costs an owner thousands more dollars per project, up to 80 percent, according to the city.

So to encourage owners and help cover the gap, the city in September 2015 established a grant program divvying state Department of Environmental Quality dollars. To date, it has funded 11 projects up to $2,500 each. The Bureau of Planning and Sustainability plans to seek additional dollars from DEQ.

In February, the council approved a resolution to draft rules to get the ball rolling.

In 2015, 337 single-family homes in Portland were demolished. Of those, 30 were deconstructed. The city estimates 4,800 tons of material from those razings ended up in a landfill, and material worth $5 million was not repurposed.

A different effort by Hales to raise revenue for affordable housing by supporting deconstruction was met with harsh criticism. He planned to charge $25,000 for 鈥渙ne-for-one鈥� demolitions of old homes, but the idea was sunk before a formal vote.