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The Portland City Council made a tentative August decision official Wednesday morning, striking down a condition attached to the Historic Landmarks Commission’s approval of a plan to renovate the Portland Building.

The Portland City Council made a tentative August decision official Wednesday morning, striking down a condition attached to the Historic Landmarks Commission’s approval of a plan to renovate the Portland Building. The decision also finalized a rejection of architect Peter Meijer‘s appeal of project approval. The final vote was 4-0; Commissioner Nick Fish abstained.

DLR Group‘s appeal centered on a condition that would have required either a 50 percent reduction in the size of HVAC equipment planned for the building’s rooftop or moving the equipment inside.

DLR Group architects claimed that the condition could not be met without recreating many of the building’s existing problems, such as poor air quality.

Meijer had wanted the City Council to remand the $195 million project to the Historic Landmarks Commission for further modification.

The proposed renovation calls for placement of a rain screen over the building’s exterior. The rain screen would closely resemble but not exactly match the building’s existing appearance. That sparked fears that the building could be de-listed from the National Register of Historic Places.

Designers argued that the rain screen was the best option to solve continual problems including water leakage and inadequate lighting.