LEWISTON — The city needs to continue demolishing ruined buildings but should be prepared to give up on some buildings if councilors want to resurrect the downtown housing district, according to a task force report.
“In general, we make some overarching recommendations, which include continuing removing dangerous buildings, focusing resources on buildings that can be successful and address negative impacts with vacant lots,” said City Administrator Ed Barrett.
Members of the current City Council accepted the report at their regular meeting Tuesday, but it will be up to the next group — due to take office in January — to do something with it.
“Because it’s an initiative that started this year, we wanted to be sure and get back to this council to receive this report,” Barrett said. “I fully anticipate we will spend time on this in a workshop and work on some of the specific recommendations that require ordinance or policy changes with the next council.”
The 13-page report, included in the council’s meeting packet, describes the area as a dense neighborhood of multi-story apartments built of wood between the 1800s and 1930. The age and nature of the buildings have led to declining maintenance and fire danger.
Rents are low — 35 to 40 percent of similar-sized buildings in Portland — while per-square foot construction costs remain high. That means that rent alone is not enough to pay for many of the buildings.
The city has worked to tear down the worst buildings, and the report recommends that work continue. But it recommends the city take firm action against landlords who don’t keep their buildings up, noting that it will be unpopular with landlords. Councilors need to back up city inspectors and code enforcement officials, according to the report.
It also recommends giving city staff the ability to go on private lots and remove potential fire hazards.
“We’ve gone around and round on that in the past about what we can and can’t do,” Barrett said. “But the fire chief and I are convinced we can make a case that if a sufficient public hazard exists — people have old mattresses or old junk piled up — it’s an extraordinary fire hazard, and it authorizes us to deal with that issue.”
The report also calls for hiring a fire inspector and staff for the city’s code enforcement office, both matters that the incoming councilors will have to discuss during their budget reviews.
Mayor Robert Macdonald appointed the task force in September to look at the downtown area’s housing market and recommend solutions to the City Council. The group was made up of the mayor, City Councilors Kristen Cloutier and Shane Bouchard, City Administrator Ed Barrett, five city employees and two area landlords, Rick Lachapelle and Steven LaBrecque.
Report of the Lewiston Downtown Building Task Force, Nov. 2015 by Scott Taylor
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