NORWAY – The condition of the historic three-story Opera House poses a “very significant” danger to the public and neighboring property, according to court documents filed to force its owner to shore it up.

The town is seeking a temporary restraining order and preliminary injunction against Barry Mazzaglia of Londonderry, N.H., hoping to prevent the 1894 brick edifice on Main Street from collapsing, according to paperwork filed last week in Oxford County Superior Court.

“We have nothing to say,” Mazzaglia said Friday afternoon from his office in reference to the court action.

Alfred Hodson of Resurgence Engineering and Preservation of Portland said in his affidavit that, “It is not possible to predict whether the entire roof will fall in or, if it does fall in, whether it will further damage the south wall or cause the north wall to fall onto the sidewalk and into Main Street in Norway. I can say to a certainty that the danger to the public and neighboring property is currently very significant.”

Hodson said when he inspected the building last December, he saw new cracks and bricks that had fallen, masonry that had pulled away, and the upper wall of the southwest corner apparently moving.

“The overall risk to the building and the public is at least as critical as it was last year,” he stated. He said he believes the north wall, which faces Main Street, may also be affected now.

The building is topped with a large clock tower.

Town Manager David Holt told selectmen Thursday that Mazzaglia failed to remove more than a foot of snow on the roof last week as requested by the town.

While the owner has made temporary repairs himself, town officials say they don’t believe he understands the seriousness of the situation.

The town has asked the court to order Mazzaglia to keep the roof free of more than 1 foot of snow, immediately provide adequate bracing to the upper portion of the south wall and take steps to stabilize the structure and the roof so that loads are transferred to the building foundation. It also asks that he immediately stabilize the roof with temporary shoring, hire an engineer and construction company to implement the engineer’s shoring system and secure the property.

The Opera House, which is the centerpiece of the downtown National Historic District, was damaged in September 2007 when water pooling on a section of the roof that was sagging caused a partial collapse. The water cascaded down through all three floors, forcing two street-level businesses to relocate. The upper floors have been empty for decades.

The building has been vacant since that time, except for Woodsman’s Sporting Goods shop, which is moving across the street to the building formerly owned by the Sun Journal.

No date has been set to hear the motion.