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Mark Greenberg seeks demolition of 575 Depot Street; board recommends denial
Summary
The Design Advisory Board voted 3-2 to recommend denial of an application to demolish the building at 575 Depot Street after testimony from a former historical society president and local business owners. The applicant said the building is in poor condition and he will not repair it.
Mark Greenberg, the applicant and property owner, asked the Town of Manchester Design Advisory Board for permission to demolish the building at 575 Depot Street (Application NC-2025-97, Tax Map: 37-50-33.00). Greenberg told the board the demolition is part of an open application, he cannot imagine a future use that would retain the building, the structure is in extremely poor condition and he does not intend to repair it.
Dick Smith, former president of the Manchester Historical Society, argued the building should not be demolished. He said the State of Vermont defines a “historic property” while the Manchester Land Use and Development Ordinance defines “Historic Structure,” and asserted that under his reading of state statutes, the town ordinance and the Manchester Town Plan the demolition application should not be approved. A local business owner, Terry Lindsey, said the demolition would negatively affect her business. When asked what would happen if the building remained vacant, the owner indicated he "has no interest in repairing the building, and will let the building fall into disrepair until he is ultimately forced to tear it down," according to the record.
After public comment, board member Chris Conte moved to recommend denial of the application as presented; the motion, seconded by Eileen Braheney, passed 3-2. Ray Nevin and John Watanabe voted against the recommendation to deny. The board did not vote to require repair or issue a demolition permit; it issued a recommendation to deny the applicant's request to proceed with demolition. The application is recorded as NC-2025-97 in the meeting record.
The record supplied to the board lists the applicant's reasons and cites the Manchester Land Use and Development Ordinance and the Manchester Town Plan as planning documents referenced during testimony. The board did not adopt a separate preservation determination at the meeting; further administrative steps or appeals, if any, would be recorded in subsequent proceedings.
