Accepting a tongue-lashing from members of the historic district commission, the contractor responsible for tearing down a historic house in Provincetown, MA without the required permit asked the commission not to impose a large fine on him or his client.

However, commission members continued the special meeting last Wednesday until this week to give them time to consult with the state Historic Preservation Office on appropriate penalties for the demolition of a circa-1900 house located in a historic district. Under the current Provincetown historic bylaws, the commission may only have the authority to impose a $250 a day fine dating back to the day of the stop-work order, which was issued on Jan. 5, resulting in a fine of approximately $1,500 at the time of the special meeting.

That is significantly lower than the minimum $10,000 fine suggested by Tom Boland, former chair of the Provincetown Historic District Study Committee, which created the historic district commission. Boland, speaking at last week