A six-acre parcel of land abutting the Spurwink Marsh off Sawyer Road has been donated to the town, in the hope that it will be preserved as open space.

Wyatt and Rachel Garfield, owners of World Over Imports in Portland – and its predecessor, the Pier One store, since 1982 – are selling the Cape home they have lived in since 1987 and are moving to Portland, what Wyatt Garfield jokingly called “the big city.”

They are donating the lot in front of their home, which Rachel Garfield describes as a meadow, valued for tax purposes at $61,000. The property taxes on the lot are $970 a year, according to Town Assessor Matthew Sturgis, who said though the donation is “great in stature” the loss of the tax revenue shouldn’t be a concern to the town, which brings in approximately $20.5 million in taxes annually.

Conservation Commission Chairman John Herrick said the commission is almost always in favor of accepting donations of open space, and the commission did recommend on Nov. 8 that the Town Council accept the donation, which is expected to happen at the council’s meeting Monday, Dec. 12, at 7:30 p.m. at Town Hall.

Herrick said he would like to preserve the land as open space and possibly use it to develop Greenbelt trails connecting into Scarborough.

There is currently an easement on the land preventing building on the land. It is on the edge of the marsh and abuts town-owned land, which Wyatt Garfield said made the donation a good move.

The Garfields never intended on developing the land, and purchased it in an effort to “keep it green,” said Rachel Garfield. “That’s what made this house, the meadow in front of us,” she said.

The Garfields are selling their home in Cape Elizabeth, valued in town records at $557,000, and moving in January to a Portland home valued by the city at $405,000. With all but one of their three children grown and living elsewhere, Wyatt Garfield said it was time for him and his wife to downsize and possibly do some traveling.

The family has used the lot for recreation such as cross-country skiing and now Garfield said he wants to give it to the public because “they can’t do much with it – just enjoy it.”

In an Oct. 31 letter to Garfield, Town Manager Michael McGovern said he would like to see the lot kept undeveloped. “It will be very important for this lot to be fully protected as open space,” he wrote.