A moratorium on demolishing buildings on Mackinac Island ends today, but island officials are still debating how to preserve their 200-year-old village.
The village of Mackinac Island has numerous buildings that date back to the early 1800s and some are older than that. Some of the streets run according to the plan laid out by the British in 1780.
Last year, Mackinac Island put a moratorium on demolitions to buy time while a committee studied creating historic districts that would protect old buildings. The issue grabbed attention when the McNally Cottage built in 1889 was slated for demolition.
Now the moratorium has ended but no consensus has been reached about the issue. Some business owners oppose creating historic districts. They say private property owners have done a good job preserving the island's character without regulations.
With the moratorium over, plans to tear down McNally Cottage could resume. But the earliest it could happen would be November.
