A rendering of the condo building proposed at 19 Willis St. The 12-unit building has been held up in legal battles since the Portland Planning Board approved it in 2021. Rendering courtesy Kaplan Thompson Architects

A yearslong legal battle over whether a Munjoy Hill condo building meets city requirements and fits in with the rest of the neighborhood is inching closer to resolution.

The proposed four-story, 12-unit development at 19 Willis St. has been slowly moving through the state’s court system since the Portland Planning Board first approved plans in 2021.

But on Tuesday, the board voted unanimously to adopt “additional findings of fact” to support how it reached its decision — basically, to send judges new documentation, including a more than 10-page report from the Historic Preservation Program manager detailing why the project is compatible with the surrounding area.

Neighbors have consistently pushed back against the development, which they argue does not meet the necessary height and setback requirements and does not match the character of the historic neighborhood.

The development originally drew attention for its location in a highly sought-after area that in recent years has been the subject of debate over development and historic preservation.

Neighbors appealed the Planning Board’s unanimous 2021 decision and then appealed to the state’s high court after the Superior Court upheld the Planning Board’s decision.

But the state high court ruled that there wasn’t enough evidence for the justices to “meaningfully review” the board’s decision – the case has since been sent back to Superior Court, and twice remanded to the planning board (now and in 2023), seeking more evidence and documentation of deliberation.

“This is new documentation, but it’s not necessarily new information,” board member Maggie Stanley said Tuesday. The report from the historic preservation program “clarifies it and makes it as solid as we could put it in writing,” she said.

Stanley reiterated that she has always felt the project, which is next to but not part of the historic district, is compatible.

The city defines “compatible” as a design that respects the established building patterns and visual characteristics in the surrounding area, but at the same time, is a distinct product of its own time.

“Compatible has never meant sameness,” board member Justin Baker said.

Tim Wells, a developer of the 19 Willis St. condo building, stands at the site of the project in 2023. Shawn Patrick Ouellette/Portland Press Herald

But Peter Murray, who lives on Munjoy Hill and was among those who filed the lawsuit, argued that it clearly does not fit in with its surroundings.

“This project is a wholly different scale than the entire neighborhood it surrounds,” he told the Planning Board on Tuesday. “The mass of this building is 20-odd times the mass of any surrounding buildings in the immediate neighborhood.”

According to the historic preservation program report, the building’s design includes multiple elements that are “pulled from several nearby contributing buildings, in particular, the triple-decker apartment buildings that are common to the district.”

While the building may be larger than others in the area, it fits within the guidelines established in the ordinance, said board member Austin Smith.

“That’s just the reality in Portland. We’re going to have more and more density or more height,” he said. “The first building is always objectionable but (the area) will adapt.”

The city has until Jan. 31 to file the new documents with the court. Amy McNally, an attorney for the city, said there’s no strict timeline for the judge to make a decision, but it’s not unusual for it to take several months.