Courtesy / City of Portland
A map shows the proposed Munjoy Hill Historic District, including those that would be "contributing properties" in light blue.
November 17, 2020
Portland City Council postpones Munjoy Hill Historic District vote
Photo / Maureen Milliken
The Portland City Council Monday night put off a vote on a Munjoy Hill Historic District that would include nearly 400 properties in the neighborhood.
By Staff
A Portland City Council vote on whether a historic district should be established in the city's Munjoy Hill neighborhood has been delayed until Feb. 1, so new members of the council can get up to speed and weigh in.
The council held a workshop on the district proposal in Nov. 9 after it was approved by the planning board in August by a narrow margin.
Three new members will join the nine-member council next month. City Councilor Nick Mavodones, stressing the issue is "a substantial one," motioned that the council do more homework before voting and include new members Andrew Zarro, Mark Dion and April Fournier in the decision.
The planning board recommendation came after several years of debate, zoning changes and an overlay district in 2018 that slowed construction because of concerns about buildings being torn down and larger condominium buildings going up in their place. The neighborhood, at the tip of Portland's peninsula, was long working-class and has small lots jammed with triple-deckers and small houses. In recent years, a gentrification trend has replaced many of them with larger, more modern structures, and rents and housing prices have skyrocketed.
In August, planning board members on both sides of the vote said they struggled with their decision, and also said the city must look beyond establishing a historic district when trying to solve issues of affordable housing, housing values and inclusion.
The district was approved by the city's Historic Preservation Board in November. The district includes 427 parcels, of which 376, or 88% are classified as contributing, which means that they meet the criteria for age and retained historic features. Overall, the district represents 49% of Munjoy Hill’s building stock, according to the city.
Most of the proposed historic district property is in an R-6 residential zone, but it also includes 10 buildings in the neighborhood’s B-1 or B-1b business zones. Two of those buildings are previously designated landmarks.
Property owners of contributing structures would have to get approval from the city before making any improvements or alterations visible from a public way.
Proposed Munjoy Hill Historic District
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