Senoia's new

administration got off to a rousing start Monday night by refusing to

let the historic "Blue House" be demolished.

With nearly

100 people looking on, the council voted unanimously to deny Chuck Smith

permission to tear down his house at 49 Broad St. so BellSouth could buy

the property for expansion of its facility.

The issue has

swirled through the east Coweta town for the last two months as historical

preservationists fought to save the late 1800s home from demolition.

Smith had argued

that he was not aware of the city's historic district, which requires

council approval of any major change to any structure in the district.

He said he had been trying to sell the home for two years after he realized

it would cost too much to repair it.

He entered

into a contract with BellSouth for the half-acre lot and BellSouth said

the property would serve its future expansion needs without the home.

Senoia Area

Historical Society President Perry Benson said he didn't want to deprive

Smith of his property rights, but said the home represents one of the

reasons so many people are moving into the area.

"People

are moving here because of the homes. What will the destruction do to

property values?" He said.

Newnan's Jan

Davis, who specializes in home reconstruction, said he would purchase

the home for $90,000 and move it to another site to rebuild it.

But his preference

would be to renovate it at the current site, since "the site is an

integral part of the house."

After the discussion

dragged on for more than an hour, City Attorney Drew Whalen said the council

should probably discuss some of the issues in executive session, since

the outcome could result in a suit against the city.

When the council

reconvened after a 20-minute executive session, it turned down Smith's

request to demolish the house and many of the town's history lovers left

the meeting with smiles on their faces.