A man from Bangor will again apply for the city's permission to replace the slate roof in his historic house with asphalt, although the work has already been done.
Steven Farren, who owns a house on Broadway, said that he submitted the documents last week to ask the historical preserving commission to approve the new roof, which he built on his house, which was built in 1880.
Farren believes that his application will go before the Historic Preservation Commission in her next meeting, which will be determined on July 10 for July 10.
The new application will come to the Commission on November 14 more than seven months after the first approach to ask whether he could replace the aging slate roof on his house with a kind of asphalt that looks like slate.
The rejection of Farren's initial request has led to a month -long break between him and city officials, who emphasized how expensive and tedious it can be to maintain a historical home in Bangor. It was also used as a warning for other residents who have to replace aging elements of their historical houses in the coming years.
“I don't think one of us wants to do something crazy,” said Farren. “It is by no means disadvantageous to bring a few modern technologies into houses.”
Regardless of what happens at the upcoming meeting of the historical preserving commission, Farren hopes that his conflict with the city served as a “wake -up call” and encouraged the city to relax some requirements that places on historical houses.
Too rigid with the materials that the city allows in historical houses could prevent the properties from being maintained at all, said Farren. This is because historically precise materials are often more expensive and it could be difficult to find contractors to be able to do this work.
If homeowners cannot afford to do the work as the city requires, Farren fears that could get historical houses to decay or to disappear as a whole.
“In 1880, Bangor was the country's top wood dealer and there was a lot of money here,” said Farren. “This is no longer the case. Times have changed.”
In his second meeting with the Historic Preservation Commission, Farren plans to present two letters that prove that his roof must be replaced quickly. The letters he received after the refusal of his roof also show that the use of slate due to the high costs and the limited number of local contractors who work with it were not feasible.
A letter comes from his insurance company, in which he warned that his homeowner insurance would not be renewed if he did not replace his roof due to his poor condition.
The second letter describes an inspection of Farren's roof that New England Infrastructure Inc. carried out on January 17, 2025. The contractor came to the conclusion that due to its poor condition, the roof only replaced and does not have to be repaired.
Farren believes that his slate roof after the big fire from 1911 – which his home survived – was more than 100 years old.
Hugh Derry, a director at New England Infrastructure Inc., who wrote the letter, warned that a new slate roof would cost between 240,000 and 260,000 US dollars. Farren would probably have to wait until next year to do the work
“Slate is a dying business and it is out of date,” said Farren. “Children don't say 'I want to go to the slate business today.' It is time to continue.
David Warren, a spokesman for the city, said that he was aware that Farren intends to use new evidence to seek the permission of the historical preservation commission for his roof.
“In terms of a solution, this was ultimately able to determine for Mr. Farren,” said Warren.
Warren refused to comment on a potential result of this problem or measures that the city could take if the Historic Preservation Commission Farren again refuses.
The Historic Preservation Commission initially contested farms because it decided that materials should be repaired in historical houses or should be replaced by the same material to get the houses. Farren appealed against the decision, but the appeal committee refused on January 2.
In March, Farren bocked the rejections and had a new asphalt roof installed, which looks like slate that cost about $ 60,000, he said.
The city soon issued him a termination of the violation, the fare ordered to “define the violation” within 30 days. Instead, Farren appeal against the notification, but on May 22, the defense lawyer agreed that the city had the right to spend it.
The application fees that the farms had to pay for each session amount to almost 1,000 US dollars, he said.
Farren's house is located in Broadway Historic District – one of the nine historical areas of Bangor – in which he has to obtain the permission of the city's historical preserving commission before doing work that could change the appearance of his property.
Since the purchase of his house in 2017, Farren has carried out a number of repairs and upgrades of the property, including the removal of asbestos and the lead color and the repair of the foundation of the building, but there is even more work, he said.
Farren bought the house for 395,000 US dollars and according to City Records, the property now has a value of almost 472,000 US dollars.