Delay Adopted and Meeting Sought

The voted unanimously last night to delay demolition of Cap'n Jack's three Humphrey Street buildings for up to nine months.

The six members said they want to meet soon with developers Bruce Paradise and Barry Turkanis, and Cap'n Jack's Inn's current owner David Rooney.

The developers have a purchase and sales agreement to buy the property from Rooney.

The Historical Commission and those who support their efforts say the 1835 main building represents the last link to Swampscott's summer resort era.

They also say the three properties including one with a mansard roof are critical to maintain the historical feel on Humphrey Street.

They are hopeful the developers will preserve some of the buidlings' historical elements in their development.

"I'm hopeful that Barry and Bruce will talk with us," Commission member Sylvia Belkin said.

Commission Chairman Jean Reardon will check with the Town Clerk to see if the meeting qualifies for a behind-closed-door session.

The developers, and their supporters, say the two men have invested a lot of time and effort into their proposal and to delay the project at this late point is unfair.

Developer Bruce Paradise said earlier that it would cost more to renovate the buildings than to start from the ground up.

Turkanis said in an interview last week that he and Paradise have every intention of going forward with the project.

Commission member Melanie Peterson said on Tuesday that people in town have told her that the Commission is standing in the way of progress. But she said she believes that trying to save the town's remaining history is the right thing to do.

Member Sylvia Belkin said there is a large number of people in town who would be very upset if the Commission folded its hands and did nothing.

The delay from the Historical Commission is a temporary barrier to development.

Another barrier to development is a pending legal challenge to the project, part of which challenges the the approval it received from the town Zoning Board of Appeals.

The town Conservation Commission approved a set of conditions for the proposal last night.

The major condition, said ConsCom Chairman Nelson Kessler, is that no blasting takes place within 20 feet of the top of the bank overlooking the ocean. 

There was one abstention among the Historical Commission members. That was from Angela Ippolito who abstained because Bruce Paradise's compnay is doing work on her home.