enlarge Jack Milton/Staff Photographer

This vacant building at 6 Washington Ave. in Portland will be demolished within 10 days. It was declared a threat to public safety and a fire hazard.

PORTLAND — The City Council voted Monday to order the demolition of a three-story building at the bottom of Munjoy Hill, setting aside a dispute over whether the owner owes the city $150,000 for removing three residential units.

The council voted unanimously to order that the building at 6 Washington Ave. be demolished within 10 days. The city's code enforcement officer had declared the building a threat to public safety and a fire hazard.

The owner, Alec Altman of Yarmouth, who owned the Binga's Wingas restaurant in Bramhall Square that was destroyed by a fire last year, has agreed to pay for the demolition.

Altman paid more than $400,000 for the building in 2006 and will end up with a vacant lot and a festering conflict with City Hall over whether he owes the city $150,000.

His lawyer, David Lourie, said that Altman wanted to demolish the building a year ago but didn't want to pay $150,000 to compensate for the loss of units that haven't existed since at least 1957. For many years, the building was occupied by dry cleaning businesses.

Lourie said city officials would not let Altman demolish the building until Altman paid $150,000 into the city's housing replacement fund, which was created in 2002 to prevent the city from losing housing.

The ordinance requires a developer pay $50,000 for each housing unit that is converted to another use. A developer can also create the housing elsewhere.

Lourie said the city has no record of the units at 6 Washington Ave. being converted to other uses, and therefore ruled that the units legally exist.

"This thing is crazy," Lourie said after the council meeting.

He said the city eventually agreed to allow the demolition to go forward while the disagreement over the fee is dealt with through the appeal process.

Lourie said Altman plans to appeal to both the Planning Board and the Zoning Board of Appeals.

In 2006, Altman planned to convert the top floors of the building into a single residence and establish a second Binga's Wingas restaurant on the first and second floors.

Work crews who were demolishing the interior of the building knocked down some supporting walls, causing the roof to cave in. Altman never repaired the roof, allowing the elements to damage the building.

Councilor Kevin Donoghue, who represents the area, said Altman has moved his attention to other business ventures and has let the building on Washington Avenue deteriorate.

Altman opened a Binga's Wingas in Yarmouth this year and is opening Binga's Wingas Stadium Smokehouse & Sports Bar at 77 Free St. in Portland.

Donoghue said the building's demolition will be good for the neighborhood. "It is an unsafe structure and is certainly a drag on the neighborhood."

Altman could not be reached for comment.

Staff Writer Tom Bell can be contacted at 791-6369 or at: tbell@pressherald.com