The Wiscasset Historic Preservation Commission unanimously approved a certificate of appropriateness for a deck at 158 Federal Street on March 2. The new owner, Cory Hubert, wanted to complete a back deck and sun room and a front porch in keeping with the historic character of the property.

Much of the night’s discussion centered on an upcoming meeting between the commission and the Downtown Public Advisory Committee at 5 p.m. March 27. Some commission members had attended the most recent committee meeting and became concerned that the committee is too passive and that the Maine Department of Transportation seemed to be in charge.

Commission Chair John Reinhardt said he fully expected there would be a difference of opinion between the commission and the committee.

Richard Thompson said he was shocked at what he called the imbalance between ordinary citizens on the committee and the selectmen who were serving and who he said deferred to MDOT. “I was appalled that a member of the committee seemingly had to ask to be on the agenda,” he said. The member wasn’t allowed to address the group when the presentation didn’t seem to support MDOT, Thompson said.

Reinhardt said he hoped the upcoming meeting would “clarify some of our positions about what they are doing regarding the historic preservation of our town.”

The commission was unsure what their own responsibilities would be on the construction project. Several members said they should have oversight on any archaeological sites that might be unearthed, but Town Planner Ben Averill said the Maine Historic Preservation Commission, not the town, has authority over archaeology.

In other business, the commission consider amendments to the preservation ordinance. Members hope to have the proposed changes ready in time for the June town meeting.

Much of the talk centered on what constituted a major, or board, review, which would need commission approval and a certificate of ppropriateness, and what would be considered a minor review, and could be done administratively.

The commissioners drafted a $10 fee for a board review. That would cover the cost of a poster-sized paper to be posted on the property where the construction would take place, informing the public of the plan and the hearing.  There would be no fee for an administrative review. If a project was begun without the commission’s approval, they planned to charge a penalty of $300 as well as the board review fee.

Discussing a board review, several members favored a percentage-based system, in which if a certain percentage of a property were being altered – perhaps 20 percent or more – the project would merit board review. Others pointed out the goal of the ordinance is to establish guidelines for what a property looks like, keeping its historic character intact; replacing a roof with an exact copy of the roof, or re-shingling a whole house with cedar shingles that do not markedly change the nature of the property, the ordinance does not require board review, even if a building permit is required.

Averill said Wiscasset voters would be unlikely to support more stringent rules. When the ordinance was written, many ideas were discarded as too intrusive. The ordinance only involves things visible from the street. It doesn’t deal with garden structures or plantings, and does not address homes’ paint color. “If the commission wishes that level of control, you would want to consider an overlay so that Village 2 isn’t part of that requirement,” he said.

The commission briefly considered the issue of “demolition by neglect,” in which buildings become uninhabitable because people did not or could not make the corrections to their properties. Reinhardt referred to a carriage house he said is in serious danger of having to be torn down. “I wish there was something we could do about situations like that.”

The  commission meets next at 5 p.m. March 16 at the municipal building.