Bangor commission recuses member, approves roof material change for 198 Broadway citing financial hardship

The Bangor City Historic Preservation Commission voted 4–0 on Oct. 9 to grant a certificate of appropriateness allowing the owner of 198 Broadway to replace a deteriorated slate roof with a substitute roofing material, finding the cost and lack of contractor availability created an undue hardship.

The decision followed a lengthy public hearing that included an objection from the applicant’s representative and a contested recusal motion that removed Commissioner Anne Marie Quinn from participation. Chair Edmund Tranesti opened the session and framed the procedural rules before the commission moved through evidence, argument and multiple votes on preservation standards and the commission’s exception criteria.

The certified record shows the commission weighed technical evidence, contractor estimates and an engineer’s inspection. Consultant Mike Pollan described the house as historically significant and detailed the building’s Italianate features; the applicant’s exhibit included an engineer’s report describing missing and displaced slate tiles, fastener failure and rot in underlying sheathing. The applicant and his representative also presented multiple contractor estimates and letters from the owner’s insurer saying the roof needed replacement within an insurer-imposed timeframe.

The applicant’s representative, Rick Violet, argued the recusal request was necessary because, he said, Commissioner Quinn had formed an opinion based on information outside the public record and on independent legal research. Violet told the commission he was “not sure where Miss Quinn gets that…