Cape Elizabeth officials are searching for the heirs of Jedediah Loveitt to acquire their property interests for approximately 18 acres of land behind Sherwood Forest, near Locksley Road.

At a town council meeting on Monday, Town Manager Mike McGovern proposed that the council accept release deeds from the heirs of Dorothy Scott for 1/14 of the land and also offer all apparent heirs a proportion of the assessed value of $46,000, with money from the land acquisition fund. McGovern said the town is interested in the land to extend the greenbelt area, which is eventually supposed to reach to the town center.

According to McGovern, more and more heirs to the land have been turning up, some owning as little as 1/44 of the land. Though he expects many people to willingly hand their rights over to the town, the lines of inheritance for some portions of the land lead to dead ends.

“It’s a very strange situation,” McGovern said at the meeting.

Councilor Mary Ann Lynch suggested that the decision be broken down into two votes. First, she moved to accept the release deeds, which passed in a 6-0 vote. Secondly, she moved to “discuss the pros and cons of the acquisition of this property” in executive session, to be followed by a public vote. Her motion passed.

According to McGovern, after the closed discussion, the council voted to authorize spending $30,000 from the land acquisition fund to acquire more of the property. McGovern said he has passed that information on to the town’s attorney, Tom Leahy, who will continue to work with the heirs.