Will York demolish 'dangerous' Pizza by Paras building? Selectboard to decide fate

YORK, Maine — The Selectboard will decide whether the former Pizza by Paras building at Short Sands Beach is legally “dangerous” Monday, authorizing them to tear it down.

The board’s five members will convene at 10 a.m. inside the York Police Station for a quasi-judicial hearing to determine if the long-closed pizzeria at 16 Railroad Ave. is a danger under state law. Town officials say unpermitted work on the building has impacted the foundation of next-door Johnny’s Candy Corner, as well as the public street and sidewalk.

The Paras family has claimed the town has been unfair with permitting. Their store’s windows are filled with messaging that alludes to a vendetta by town officials against their family.

The family will be welcome to share their side at Monday’s hearing.

Spiro Paras, son owner Eleni Paras, said his mother is not in the country but in Greece with her ill sister. He said his family has never received any notice of town meetings regarding the building including Monday’s dangerousness hearing.

“(Eleni) Paras is 89 years old and the actions taken against her singly, and alone, might well be interpreted as elder abuse,” Spiro Paras said Tuesday.

Town Manager Peter Joseph said the Selectboard will need to vote Monday on whether to allow people other than the legal owner Eleni Paras or her attorney to speak. Paras’ husband Ernest died at 94 in 2021.

Selectboard Chair Todd Frederick said Tuesday he hoped that Eleni Paras would appear at the hearing.

“I hope she shows up,” Frederick said. “If she doesn’t, we’ll have to make a decision as the five of us.”

Deal reached: Ex-teacher, York High School settle lawsuit over alleged anti-LGBTQ discrimination

York Selectboard to decide fate of Pizza by Paras building

State law allows localities to take control of properties that are deemed a “nuisance or dangerous” if the municipal officers, such as the Selectboard, can meet several criteria. The criteria include the building is “structurally unsafe, unstable or unsanitary; constitutes a fire hazard; is unsuitable or improper for the use or occupancy to which it is put; constitutes a hazard to health or safety.”

The board previously conducted the same hearing for a beach cottage that burned at 99 Freeman St. in 2022. The board voted that summer to find the building was a danger after town officials said the caretaker of the cottage was conducting unpermitted work and refused to let town officials onto the property. The town ultimately granted her the permits for work, initially concerned the law prevented anyone but the owner from applying for permits.

While demolition is one option if the building is found dangerous, board members will consider a wide range of options necessary to make the building safe. Frederick said that could include anywhere from fencing it off to doing work to secure its stability.

"The plate of options available is wide open," Joseph said. "Anything necessary to secure the property or to abate the dangerous condition is on the table."

New rules for Airbnb and Vrbo rentals? York short-term rental ordinance on the ballot

Battle over Pizza by Paras goes back years

The community has watched the town and the Paras family stand-off for 14 years over the structure’s safety, including a trial in 2019. A judge ordered Pizza by Paras to correct violations, and the town has since motioned to enforce that action in 2020 and 2022.

Town officials say recent impacts on neighboring property have given the situation new urgency to address the problem. The Biagioni family, which owns Johnny’s Candy Corner next door, has said their foundation is being compromised by work on the property that includes a large hole. The town has disconnected the power to the building and put a stop work order on the structure.

Frederick said he is hopeful a resolution to the years-long dispute can come from the quasi-judicial hearing.

“I certainly hope that the matter resolves at a much more timely fashion than it has over, what is it, 15 years?” Frederick said. “The courts grind slow. This process can move a little quicker than the courts.

Nevada Motel: Landmark York Beach hotel reopens in June

This article originally appeared on Portsmouth Herald: York Selectboard to rule on fate of Pizza by Paras building