FARMINGTON – Razing the Taylor home on Perham Street to provide a bus exit for the new Mallett School would create a negative impact on the historic street scene, said Earle Shettleworth, director of Maine’s Historic Preservation Commission said on Tuesday.

That advisory position is being taken by the commission after months of review centered on whether the Mallett School itself, built in 1930, was eligible for the National Register of Historic Places, and the issue of razing the house on Perham, he said.

Proposed plans for the new school include building behind the existing school then razing it and two homes to provide a bus exit onto Perham.

Issues regarding the school were settled Monday, Shettleworth said, after a review showed significant changes to the school would make it ineligible for the register.

But the home at 113 Perham and owned by Carol and Brian Taylor was built around 1870, and is included in Farmington’s Historical District. The district was listed on the National Register in 1995 because of its historic homes, including well preserved examples of 19th and early 20 century homes, he said.

“Once you start by taking one house, it diminishes the effect of the 19th century streetscape and neighborhood, leaving blank spaces and new traffic patterns. In a number of cases like this, we recommend not to do this,” he said.

That position could affect the school project’s approval by Maine Department of Environmental Protection, said architect Stephen Blatt in a memo to Farmington’s code enforcement officer.

Once SAD 9 architects realized the commission opposed razing the Taylor home, they sought clarification from Farmington officials on whether the project could be approved under the zoning ordinance. The ordinance generally requires “growth compatible with architectural/historic and cultural character,” said CEO Steve Kaiser.

“It’s a unique situation. We’ve never been in this position before,” Kaiser said Monday. “Does it have significant historical value? … can’t say till the planning board reviews it and they haven’t started yet.”

More information is needed, including legal research, he added.

The board heard an initial presentation of plans earlier this month but would not start the review until after a referendum is held, perhaps this fall, said Jim Harford of Stephen Blatt Architects.

“It’s unclear from the town’s point of view what impact the MHPC’s finding would have on the town’s ordinance,” he said.

Following a straw poll last Thursday, when voters overwhelmingly favored keeping the school at the same site, architects provided an alternative bus exit to the building committee, but it was not well received, Harford said.

A map of the historical district was available but the town does not know what MHPC means by historical district or what authority it has over the district, Kaiser said. The house in question is not within the town’s designated Village Business Historic District, Kaiser said.

Shettleworth said the commission only makes advisory findings. It nominates areas for the national register but has no authority over the district. There are 150 historic districts in Maine. The commission’s role is to ensure projects will not have a negative impact on those districts.