05/16/2016

Town councilors agree to purchase of potential Oakhurst area greenbelt link

The Town Council on May 9, 2016 authorized Town Manager Michael McGovern to purchase this 0.89-acre lot behind 8 Rock Wall Lane for conservation purposes for $75,000 from the land-acquisition fund

It's less than an acre in size, but now it's a big piece of the town's greenbelt system.

The Town Council on May 9, 2016 unanimously approved the purchase of approximately 0.90 acres behind 8 Rock Wall Lane, off of Oakhurst Road, in hopes of improving public access to nearby Loveitt Woods and adjoining open space.

The $75,000 appropriation will come from the town's land-acquisition fund, which had a balance of $144,384.

"This is a major major piece, very significant piece," Town Manager Michael McGovern said. Officials have been working to acquire rights to the parcel for nearly five years, and although its assessed value is $24,900, according to the assessor's website, the Conservation Commission unanimously recommended the purchase at their meeting earlier this month.

Councilors too supported the purchase, but Councilor Jamie Garvin, who lives on Oakhurst Road, said he understands the concerns of the owners of property over which "casual" trails connect the newly acquired property to Loveitt Woods. "I'm hopeful that through cooperative negotiation with the other existing land owners ... that we will be able to come to collaborative and stewardship-focused use of this property going forward," Garvin said. He added, however, that he wasn't "wild" about the cost of the newly acquired parcel.

Maureen O'Meara, town planner, said town maps do not include trails on private property without the owner's consent.

The 18-acre Loveitt Woods open space abuts other town-owned land extending to Robinson Woods, which is owned by the Cape Elizabeth Land Trust. If and when the town does link the new acquisition to Loveitt Woods, it would open greenbelt access to nearly 200 households in the Oakhurst area, said Council Chair Molly MacAuslan. "That is astounding to me," she said. "I think that is tremendous to give people access ... really almost all the way down to Great Pond," MacAuslan said.