A potential

battle is brewing in Senoia over the fate of an old home in the city's

historic district.

On the one

side is owner Chuck Smith, who wants permission to demolish the home at

49 Broad St. and sell the property to neighboring BellSouth for an expansion

of its facility.

On the other

side is the city's history buffs, who are questioning whether the house

could possibly be moved to another site and saved.

Smith told

the City Council that he had bought the home three years ago and decided

to renovate it. But after starting the project, he quickly realized the

damage was too extensive for him to handle and decided to put the home

on the market.

For two years,

he has been looking for a buyer and seems to have found one in BellSouth,

which has a facility next to his home.

BellSouth wants

to expand its facility because of the growth in the region, and also because

the company eventually may have to offer competing phone companies space

in the facility, said a BellSouth spokesman.

Because the

structure is in the city's historic overlay district, any change must

be approved by the City Council.

Mayor Joan

Trammell said she would abstain from any vote on the issue, because she

lives only a block away from the property.

Councilman

Bill Wood, who works for Bell South and also said he would abstain from

voting, said the issue was whether the home could be fixed for a reasonable

cost or possibly moved.

The most vocal

opponent of a quick vote on demolition came from the audience. Joanne

Utt, who used to head the city's historic society, wanted to know if every

effort had been made to try and find another location to move the house.

"We're

about trying to save history, and if you let that home be demolished,

you're setting a precedent," she said.

Smith said

he did not believe the house was in any shape to move and submitted a

inspection report to the City Council that outlined the damages.

The council

decided to table Smith's request for demolition, until it had more time

to study the project.