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The Portland Historic Landmarks Commission on Wednesday presented to the City Council a 20-page report highlighting what it believes are the top issues facing historic resources in the city.

鈥淚 wanted to highlight the folks in the city of Portland and their endeavors to preserve the built environment,鈥� Commission Chairman Kirk Ranzetta told the council, which accepted the report with a 4-0 vote. 鈥淭he bottom line is the folks of Portland individually take efforts to preserve our heritage seriously.鈥�

Nevertheless, more than 1,442 historic buildings were demolished between 2012 and 2017, according to the report. Factors ranged from the city’s need for more, higher density housing to safety issues regarding unreinforced masonry.

The need for a balance of preservation and new housing is the most contentious issue the commission faces, according to Vice Chairwoman Kristen Minor. The commission does not oppose higher density in historic districts, she said.

鈥淭here have been a lot of unfair accusations (about the commission),鈥� she said. 鈥淚t is the zoning that prohibits density.鈥�

Many demolitions can be avoided via incentives prioritizing adaptive reuse, Minor said. The commission’s report argues for creation of both city and state government tax credits to help entice developers to prioritize reuse instead of demolition. Those credits could be paid for through system development charges, according to the report.

Such incentives helped save the Bronaugh Apartments. The 112-year-old building was in danger of being demolished before low-income tax credits helped pay for a renovation. Now, the three-story building offers 50 apartments for residents on fixed incomes. The project won a Charles L. Edson Tax Credit Excellence Award in the HUD preservation category

However, some city commissioners warned against tax credits becoming a panacea to save historic buildings.

鈥淭here are real trade-offs, and it is naive for us to assume there aren’t,鈥� Mayor Ted Wheeler said. 鈥淭he real hard part is drawing the lines. There is a trade-off between preserving a historic asset and the value of commercial space.鈥�

Wheeler said he has had conversations about protecting historical assets, a housing emergency and safety involving unreinforced masonry (URM) all within the last year.

鈥淎t some point these three conversations have to come together,鈥� he said.

Many older buildings in Portland were constructed with masonry that would not hold up in a major earthquake. Retrofit costs can be significant. Nevertheless, such efforts are important to preserve structures, according to the Historic Landmarks Commission’s report.

鈥淭hese places help reorient people and remind people where they are and who they are (after a big seismic event),鈥� Minor said. 鈥淲e need better solutions and incentives for URMs.鈥�

Deciding which structures are worthy of seismic investment is the tough call.

鈥淣ot all unreinforced masonry should be preserved and protected,鈥� Wheeler said. 鈥淪ome of it is junk and should probably be scraped. Others are assets that are literally irreplaceable.鈥�

Nearly everyone at Wednesday’s meeting agreed that the city’s Historic Resources Inventory (HRI) needs an update. The previous full count of buildings that could qualify for historic status occurred 35 years ago.

鈥淭he HRI provides a new set of eyes on resources and looks at them in a new light,鈥� Ranzetta said.

Commissioner Amanda Fritz was the most upbeat about the report’s suggestions for meeting the challenges facing historic preservation efforts.

鈥淲e can accommodate density without destroying our neighborhoods,鈥� she said. 鈥淚t’s not either or. We can do it all.鈥�