It’s been 14 years since the city of South Portland has reviewed the status of its open space and with recent controversy regarding possible development of two city-owned lots the City Council has decided now is the time to take action.

At a workshop last week the council agreed it’s critical to “reaffirm the city’s and public’s commitment (to preserving) open space” in the words of resident Peter Turner.

To that end the council is likely to establish a new open space committee that would have the responsibility of reviewing all city-owned property and making recommendations for future use, including possible sale or permanent protections from development.

The council expects to further fine-tune its approach at a workshop on Monday, July 27, but at its July 13 meeting Councilor Patti Smith said her goal would be to create open space zones, arguing not having such protections in place is “a missed opportunity.”

Like several residents who spoke last week, Smith said South Portland is risking losing valuable open space by not having protective policies and ordinances on the books.

During the July 13 meeting, City Manager Jim Gailey presented the council with a list of 270 city-owned parcels, 21 of which he put in the “threat potential” category, including lots at 25 Westbrook St. and 496 Ocean Ave.

The Westbrook Street lot has now been permanently protected by a conservation easement, which the council approved Monday. (See story on this page.)

But the former Hamlin School property on Ocean Avenue, which houses the city’s planning and development office, as well as a community garden, is still listed as being in a village center zone and has the potential to be developed.

The 2-acre lot at 25 Westbrook St. was saved this week after a nearly two-year battle that involved the possibility of a new, 24-hour Dunkin’ Donuts restaurant going up adjacent to the Congregation Bet Ha’am synagogue.

While councilors argue that the Hamlin School lot was never in jeopardy, neighbors were alarmed earlier this year by a proposal from Martin’s Point Health Care, which approached the city in March about the possibility of redeveloping the site.

In May, Martin’s Point dropped that plan citing the negative feedback and a lack of response from the city.

However, neighbors like Turner are still concerned about the future of the Hamlin School parcel, which is why he called on the council last week to put “definitive language” into its ordinances regarding the future of open space properties in the city.

At last week’s meeting councilors also expressed surprise that some of the city’s most beloved parks, including Mill Creek, Bug Light and Hinckley, have no specific protections, other than being city-owned.

Councilor Melissa Linscott echoed Smith’s concerns about the city’s open spaces and said she would like to be sure that South Portland “puts the strongest protections in place” for its parks and other important parcels “in language that is legal, binding and long-term.”

She added, “some of these parcels need to be pulled out and we need to say these will be forever parks.”

Councilor Claude Morgan is also in support of “putting covenants in place” for the parks and said he would like to ensure that no city property is sold until the open space group completes its work.

And Mayor Linda Cohen called the review of open space “hugely important” work that should not be rushed.

In terms of public support for creating an open space plan, Steve Jocher, president of the South Portland Land Trust, said his group would be “very interested” in seeing the city move forward with “a very deliberative process.”

He also called some of the parcels that the city owns “fantastic properties” that are worthy of protection.

Resident Cindy Krum added she’s in “total support” of protecting open space in the city, but also asked councilors to “look for connectivity in how we move from one open space to another.”

Prior to the July 13 workshop, Gailey provided the council with a memo outlining the work of a 2001 committee, which created an

Open Space Strategic Plan that was never adopted.

Among the recommendations from that plan were a $1 million bond to refill the coffers of the city’s Land Bank Fund; dedicating 3 cents of the property tax to open space protection; working with various neighborhoods throughout the city to purchase “private neighborhood commons;” and to continue the open space planning process.

Last week Smith said she requested that a review of open space be put on the council’s agenda because there are no policies for how these properties are treated.

She argued that “quick action” is needed on the parcels that are at risk, but also said she’d like to see detailed discussion about items like wildlife corridors, bee pollination corridors and urban agriculture.

Overall, councilors agreed that more thought needs to be put into where the city wants to go in terms of open space, which is one reason further discussion is scheduled for July 27.

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