By Staff
The Portland City Council Monday will hold a workshop on whether a historic district should be established in the city s Munjoy Hill neighborhood, a topic that has been discussed for years and will go before the council for a vote in the coming weeks.
The council on Nov. 16 put off the issue until the council s three new members, Andrew Zarro, Mark Dion and April Fournier, could 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. Monday night s meeting will also be a workshop, with no vote taken.
Credit CITY file photo
An acrimonious eight-year-long legal battle over the proposed Westport Crossing development in Pittsford has been put to an end by outgoing state Supreme Court Justice John Ark, at least for now.
Ark, who will be stepping down from the bench at the end of the year, recently issued a pair of rulings against Westport Crossing developer Mark IV, which had proposed building 167 apartment units and a 125-seat restaurant along the Erie Canal at 75 Monroe Ave. The rulings upheld decisions by the village of Pittsford’s Planning and Zoning Board and its Historic Preservation Board to not grant needed approvals to the project.
FILE PHOTO Mark IV cleaned up 75 Monroe Avenue to build an apartment complex. But the site has sat idle while approval processes and lawsuits play out.
An acrimonious eight-year-long legal battle over the proposed Westport Crossing development in Pittsford has been put to an end by outgoing state Supreme Court Justice John Ark, at least for now.
Ark, who will be stepping down from the bench at the end of the year, recently issued a pair of rulings against Westport Crossing developer Mark IV, which had proposed building 167 apartment units and a 125-seat restaurant along the Erie Canal at 75 Monroe Ave. The rulings upheld decisions by the village of Pittsford’s Planning and Zoning Board and its Historic Preservation Board to not grant needed approvals to the project.
That the Crocker Memorial Church still stands is a testament to a small army of volunteers who treasure the history of Sarasota County.
Caretakers of the church built in 1901 are trying to raise $50,000 to supplement the $50,000 on hand so they can begin much-needed repairs on the wooden structure.
Florida’s sun, wind, rain and humidity have taken their toll on the building, which has been moved three times to escape the wrecking ball that has claimed so many of Sarasota’s historic structures.
Marsha Fottler, president of Historical Society of Sarasota County, said she and site manager Linda Garcia knew they faced a challenge when they spotted a mushroom growing on a windowsill inside the church. But addressing that problem was just scratching the surface of the renovations the structure needed.
ST. PETE BEACH â A week after city commissioners voted not to fund the purchase of decorative street signs for Pass-A-Grille and Corey Avenue, it was decided a scaled-down version of the issue will be put back on the agenda for consideration sometime next month.
Last week, Commissioners Ward Friszolowski, Doug Izzo and Christopher Graus voted against a plan to replace traditional street signs in Pass-A-Grille with ornate historical versions. They argued the city should first fund and address major must-have issues, such as street flooding and pothole repair, before taking on like-to-have projects such as new street signs.
At that time, Friszolowski noted, âItâs a nice thing to have, but we have pressing issues; we have flooding issues ⦠the pothole issues. I just think that this is something we ought to reconsider sometime in the future, but not until we deal with issues of flooding.â