NORWAY — The Planning Board unanimously approved a building permit for Northeast Rental Housing to renovate a fire-damaged building at 73 Beal St.

The building was previously owned by Peter Berube.

James Marcinuk of Northeast Rental Housing said the company recently acquired the building and hopes to repair the damage.

The fire last August displaced eight people, and while there was some question of whether the building could be repaired, Marcinuk said an engineer looked at it and determined it could.

“It’s going to have the same footprint as the previous building,” Marcinuk told the board Thursday evening. “There was one unit that was cited by (Code Enforcement Officer) Joelle (Corey-Whitman) and (Fire Chief) Dennis Yates, so we’ll be turning the building from six units to five units.”

The board voted 5-0 to approve the permit.

The board also heard from Missy Kenney, who is seeking to move her hairstyling business, Color Works Hair Studio, from South Paris to the former Nancy’s Hairstyling building at Paris and Solon streets.

“I’m just moving the business from Paris to Norway,” she said. “I’m not changing anything.”

Chairman Dennis Gray told Kenney that one past complaint about the building was the amount of smoke from the boiler.

“We had an awful lot of complaints coming in, and I’m wondering if it was something that you were going to continue using once you move in,” Gray said.

Kenney said she was.

“Do you think there’s anything that you can do to mitigate the problem?” Gray asked. “It was horrendously smoky back when it was being used. Nine chances out of 10, if this continues to be a problem, we’ll hear about it, and by extension, you will too.”

Corey-Whitman said that according to the Maine Department of Environmental Protection, the building’s chimney does not need to be any taller.

Gray said he wanted to make sure the information was out in the open.

“I wish you good luck, and hope the wood burns smooth and clean,” he said.

mdaigle@sunmediagroup.net

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