The Portland Planning Board became too tangled in the city’s historic preservation ordinance Tuesday night to vote on a proposal that could have major ramifications for a planned expansion at the Portland Museum of Art.

The museum has asked the city to remove a historic classification from the former Children’s Museum and Theatre of Maine so it can tear down the building and replace it with a larger one. The Planning Board held a public hearing on the matter Tuesday and was supposed to make a recommendation to the City Council, which will have the final say.

But members struggled to reconcile competing sections of the ordinance. They debated interpretations that would either broaden or narrow their discussions, which could affect their decision.

As the public hearing approached its five-hour mark, the Planning Board decided to table the application so the city’s lawyers could get involved.

“The wording is extremely poorly written,” said Kevin Kraft, deputy planning director.

The board will take up the question again at its next regular meeting on Feb. 27.

“I really wanted to get you guys an answer tonight,” chairman Brandon Mazer said to both the museum representatives and the public still gathered.

The building at 142 Free St. is considered a “contributing structure” to the surrounding Congress Street Historic District, which means it cannot be demolished. Built in 1830 and later renovated by John Calvin Stevens, it has been home to a theater, a church and the Chamber of Commerce.

The Portland Museum of Art bought the property in 2019 with an eye toward growth, and the Children’s Museum and Theatre in Maine vacated in 2021 for a new home on Thompson’s Point. Since then, the art museum has used the space mostly for offices. The museum has applied to change the designation to “non-contributing,” which would allow for demolition.

BOTH SIDES SUPPORTED

The proposal has drawn vocal supporters on both sides of the issue.

Brandon Mazer, the chairman of the Planning Board, said the city has received more than 200 written comments on the proposal. The board’s public hearing on Tuesday night drew at least three dozen people who filled the seats in the meeting room and spilled out in the hallway. More joined and spoke on Zoom. Public comment continued for nearly two hours.

Museum leaders and supporters say the building is not compatible with the needs of a growing collection and staff. They have emphasized the cultural and economic potential of the new construction they have planned for the lot, and they say that the changes made to the building over time have diminished its significance.

“The city’s properties cannot be frozen in place, especially when they have little historic value,” said Scott Simons, one of the architects on the project. “The proposed museum expansion is simply the next development of the 142 Free St. property. It is the right proposal for this time and this place.”

Opponents have emphasized the architectural significance of the building. More importantly, they have warned that such a change would set a precedent that would hurt preservation in Portland and weaken the historic preservation ordinance.

“They are asking you to say that the careful inventory and exhaustive evaluation of all the buildings in the district were done in error by the city staff when the district was first created,” said Carol De Tine, board vice president at Greater Portland Landmarks said. “It wasn’t. They’re asking you to say that the Historic Preservation Board, the planning board and the City Council were all wrong in 2009 when they approved the Congress Street Historic District and the classifications of the buildings within it. They weren’t.”

Preservation advocates also have questioned whether the change would impact the historic district as a whole and the ability of other property owners to get important tax credits. City staff contacted the National Park Service to find out how this change would impact the surrounding district but had not received a definitive answer as of Tuesday’s meeting. The museum has asserted that changing the “contributing” status of one building would not result in problems for the greater district and suggested that the city could make that question a condition of any demolition permit.

In November, the Historic Preservation Board found that the building clearly met the criteria for a “contributing” structure in the city’s historic preservation ordinance ordinance and recommended keeping that designation in place.

The Portland City Council will eventually consider the recommendations of both boards and make a final decision.

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