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The Portland Historic Landmarks Commission voted 4-0 on Monday to issue conditional approval of renovation plans for the Portland Building.

Commissioners Carin Carlson, Annie Mahoney, Wendy Chung and Matthew Roman all voted in favor of the $195 million proposal that includes installation of a rain screen. Two commissioners, Kristen Minor and Kirk Ranzetta, were not present at Monday’s hearing.

Plans call for use of a metal tile system to cover the building. It would simulate the building’s existing appearance, and address many of the problems that have plagued the structure.

One of the conditions attached by the commission is that the tile system match the color of tile now on the building. Previously, the commission also sought to ensure that the new tile also match the size of existing tile. However, Erica Ceder, a project architect with DLR Group, said that would not be possible. A system with 18-inch-by-18-inch tile is planned.

鈥淭he main issue with the (9-inch-by-9-inch) tile size making a rain screen is that most manufacturers won’t provide tiles that size for that application,鈥� she told the commission on Monday.

There is no way to replicate the smaller tile size without badly impacting the building’s appearance, Ceder said.

鈥淲e don’t have another option,鈥� she said. 鈥淲e feel strongly that anything else isn’t going to give the appearance everyone is hoping for. If this condition was accepted by the commission, we would probably take this to appeal.鈥�

The commission agreed to compromise.

鈥淚 am willing to give up (the size) condition, but would like to see the color is an exact match,鈥� Roman said.

Another condition involved the placement of mechanical equipment. The commission believes the equipment is too massive for the top of the iconic structure. A condition was adopted for either the scale of the equipment to be reduced by 50 percent or the equipment be moved inside.

Also, the commission addressed concern raised at a hearing on June 26 that the Portland Building could lose its listing on the National Register of Historic Places because of planned changes. The commission settled for a stipulation that if the national designation is lost, the city would attempt to secure local landmark status for the building. The city had previously stated in a memo to the commission that it would take such action.

鈥淚f the applicant is willing to pursue local landmark status, I think that would be something that would be a demonstration of their earnestness to make sure the right things are done here,鈥� Roman said.

If Portland city planners and DLR Group architects find they can’t abide by the conditions, they may still appeal the decision to the City Council. Individual conditions can’t be appealed.

Ceder said the team would have to further examine the commission’s decision before deciding how to move forward.