PORT TOWNSEND — Demolition permits filed for two older homes on Fillmore Street have stirred concerns about the city losing its historic flavor.
The Jefferson County Historical Society and several residents have written letters to the city’s Development Services Department protesting a partial demolition permit filed for 535 Fillmore, which was built about 1860, and for a full demolition permit filed for 308 Fillmore St., which was built around 1888.
“I saw those two notices being posted, and I realized I was seeing the footprint of our community changing,” said Linda Maguire, one resident who wrote a letter.
“It’s another change creeping in through the door.”
It isn’t that the permits wouldn’t be legal, said Bill Tennent, director of the Jefferson County Historical Society.
“In this community, the only buildings that are protected are the commercial buildings, and not residential buildings,” Tennent said.
But if too many homes in the district are altered or destroyed, there is a chance that Port Townsend’s national historic district classification will be lost, he said.
Tennent said that while two homes would not change the historical classification, the razing of old buildings takes its toll on the town.
“Once that is gone, it’s gone. We don’t get it back,” he said.
The society drafted two letters to John McDonagh, city development services department planner, registering its concerns.
Letters giving public comment, which were due by Tuesday, and plans for demolition will be weighed against the city’s moratorium on razing historic buildings.
