Scooter MacMillan | Staff Writer
During an April 22 meeting of the stateâs council for historic preservation, a motion was unanimously passed to create a new âShelburne Shipyard Historic District.â
The size of the district, which could include the shipyard and nearby homes, is still unknown. It will be the townâs third of its kind.
State architectural historian Devin Colman said the advisory council staff decided the shipyard should stay on Vermontâs list of historic places, too, after a review was triggered by a review of the site from owner Safe Harbor Marinas.
Safe Harbor purchased the shipyard in 2019 and hired historic preservation consultant Scott Newman to survey the site in case the company wants to make renovations to improve its operation, according to Newmanâs survey reporting.
On March 8, Shelburneâs director of planning and zoning Dean Pierce received an email from the state advisory council on historic preservation asking for information about the Safe Harbor Shelburne Shipyard Marina.
âWe are reaching out to ask if you have any pertinent information about the history and/or significance of this property,â the email said. And it asked for the information to be sent by March 15 for a meeting three days later.
Now locals are worried that the shipyard, possibly the oldest continuously operating of its kind in the country, could lose its historic status.
Shelburneâs historic preservation and design review commission chair Fritz Horton said he was alarmed by the request and upset that so little time was given to gather information.