Mall-marsh area preservation discussed

BANGOR – The Penjajawoc Marsh-Bangor Mall Management Commission on Friday afternoon discussed methods of expanding open-space acreage in the city while accommodating commercial developers.

Commission members discussed three methods for expanding open space around the marsh-mall area, for incorporation into the city ordinance, but there was no consensus about what would work.

The members also considered whether and how open space in other parts of the city should be preserved.

A city ordinance provides open-space corridors that prevent developments from threatening the Penjajawoc Marsh and expand preserved zones throughout the city. The ordinance requires 30 percent of acreage in the marsh-mall area to be open space.

The ordinance now includes a 250-foot setback zone surrounding the marsh. During the meeting, commission members discussed expanding that.

Bangor Planning Officer David Gould outlined the three methods that could be used to preserve land for natural habitats: off-site open space; land banking; and cash in lieu.

. Off-site open space, he said, permits developers to fulfill open-space requirements by preserving land outside a residential subdivision. The option would add to the city’s preserved acreage but would deny recreational parks for residents of the subdivision.

. Land banking sets aside open space within an area to be developed.

. Finally, cash in lieu allows developers to pay the city instead of establishing open-space land within a development. When it’s not in the city’s best interest to create open space within a subdivision, developers will pay a sum equal to the fair-market value of 5 percent of the developed acreage. The city then must appropriate the funds toward the acquisition of land elsewhere.

The cash-in-lieu option garnered most discussion because it’s already incorporated into the ordinance governing land preservation efforts.

Commission members expressed concern that the plan wouldn’t allow the city much purchasing power because of inconsistent land valuations, which vary according to the land’s use – for either commercial development or conservation.

“Values range from $300,000 per acre in one place to $1,000 in another place,” City Manager Ed Barrett said.

“Cash in lieu will mean very small dollars,” member James Hinds said. “We won’t necessarily be able to buy a lot of land.”

Gould said one other drawback of the cash-in-lieu option is the city hasn’t set priorities for preservation of land parcels. He called for comprehensive mapping of city land so that if the plan is adopted, those responsible for purchasing open space will know which properties to acquire.

Lucy Quimby, a member of the Bangor Land Trust, reminded the commission of its duty to protect the marsh rather than to focus on citywide land purchases.

“Our goal is conservation,” Quimby said. “We want our efforts to go to actual land [rather] than money to purchase more open space.”

Quimby reviewed plans to expand the setback zone that limits development from 250 feet to 600 feet from the marsh’s border. The setback may not include acquiring the land but would forbid landowners near the marsh from developing it.

Commission member Jim Parker said the expansion would further infringe on landowner rights by increasing the amount of acreage they cannot use.

“It would be nice to expand the zone, but there’s only one obstacle: We don’t own the land,” Parker said. “We don’t want to make more stringent rules and take land that doesn’t belong to us.”

The commission’s next meeting will be held at 1 p.m. Friday, July 7, in City Council chambers at City Hall.