11/21/2011

Open Space Management Plan final draft set for Town Council review at future workshop

The Town Council has accepted the final draft of a management plan for Town-owned open space in Cape Elizabeth, and will review the document at a future workshop.

The 120-page document, filled with maps, descriptions and proposed policies for use and management of Town-owned open space, was presented to the council on Nov. 14, 2011.

"This is the first time that the Town has had a document of this nature, and so it's very exciting," said Councilor Jessica Sullivan, who served on the Open Space and Greenbelt Management Plan study committee, along with members of the Conservation Commission.

Sullivan described the document as a management plan for current Town holdings, not a plan for future acquisition or preservation of open space.

As result of the committee's work, a series of trail maps are also now available online. "We've (also) catalogued uses," Sullivan said, "so as you go through the document you'll see that very soon, once the council approves, if someone wants to take a walk on a trail in Cape Elizabeth or maybe play ball somewhere on open space, they can look on a chart online and see what the uses are of that space, if there are any restrictions, and why." Uses for some properties are restricted by deed for example, she said.

"I think this is going to be an incredible tool for all of our citizens, so we're pleased to present this and hope we can look at it in more depth at an upcoming workshop," Sullivan said.

The Open Space and Greenbelt Management Plan committee was charged in April 2010 to conduct a comprehensive inventory of the 923 acres of Town-owned open space and to draft suggested policies for their use.

The committee met 24 times in the last 18 months, including two public forums.

No date has been set for the council's workshop review of the Open Space and Greenbelt Management Plan proposal.