PROVINCETOWN — Jonathan Sinaiko plans to withdraw his controversial petition to extend the town’s historic district by one property when it comes up for discussion at the April 3 annual town meeting, but that won’t be the end of the conversation.
Sinaiko’s aim had been to protect a horse barn and possibly a frame shop, both more than 100 years old, at 288A Bradford St., by including the property in the district. The extension would have been small, as the district currently ends at the 288A Bradford property line.
The town bought the 1.7-acre property last year. Some of it will be preserved as open space, while another portion will be developed with up to 15 units of affordable housing. Town officials have an article on the April 3 warrant asking for $200,000 to demolish the barn, the frame shop, and a house at 288A Bradford as well as the town’s former police station on Shank Painter Road.
Sinaiko’s proposal prompted heated comments on social media, including one post accusing him of acting purely from self-interest because he lives next door. “The audacity, entitlement and arrogance fueling the submission of this article are nothing short of obscene,” the post said.
Town counsel said that Sinaiko’s article did not satisfy requirements for historic district changes laid out in state law, which include a study, report, and public hearing before the local historic district commission. Hence, Sinaiko’s decision to withdraw it.
After discussing the petition with Sinaiko at its March 22 meeting, the historic district commission voted to take no action on the article. But members also discussed what they could do to protect the old buildings and perhaps others in town.
Michela Murphy pointed out that the commission can slow the process once the town submits its request to demolish the barn and frame shop. While the property is not in the historic district, the commission can still delay demolition of a building if it is more than 50 years old. The local demolition bylaw allows for a six-month delay.
The delay could give Sinaiko a chance to meet the legal requirements needed for his petition in time to get it on a special town meeting warrant in October.
An alternate member of the commission expressed concern that the board could bring the wrath of the town down on it by delaying the demolition. Thomas Biggert urged his colleagues to “tread softly.”
“If we stop this for six months,” Biggert said, “people will say we’re against affordable housing.”
“When people turn against a board, it can be brutal,” Sinaiko said.
Murphy disagreed. “I’m very pro-affordable housing,” she said. “I’m willing to do almost anything to get it, but I’m not willing to destroy what we’re here to protect,” she said, “even if it means that people are going to get upset.”
Member Anthony Iannacci said that extending the historic district is something the commission is not against, but “when you carve out just one address, especially under these circumstances, it seems a little shortsighted and a little self-interested.
“It would make more sense to me and would be easier for me to support something that extended the district all the way to Snail Road, for example,” Iannacci added.
Murphy argued that historic preservation and housing goals are not necessarily mutually exclusive. Expanding the district almost as far as the Truro border would provide protection for the little cottage colonies, she said. The expansion might benefit the effort to create affordable housing through a deed restriction program that would keep the cottages year-round and affordable, she said.
“I think we’re killing two birds with one stone, protecting what we’re here to protect and safeguarding the future,” Murphy said.
Commission Chair Laurie Demolino said the expansion of the historic district could be done in phases, starting with the north side of Bradford Street, which is where 288A Bradford is located, and running east. It would be done as a collaborative effort with the town since it will take money to pay for a related study and evaluations, she said.
