BANGOR – Candidates for the Bangor City Council weighed in Wednesday night on future development around the Bangor Mall and the nearby Penjajawoc Marsh, a wetland that has caused some to question the rapid expansion of the area in the past decade.

Seven of the eight candidates vying for three seats on the council sat shoulder to shoulder in the Bangor Public Library at a forum sponsored by Bangor Area Citizens Organized for Responsible Development. The group seeks to curb large-scale development around the mall and more specifically the marsh, considered a valuable wildlife habitat by state environmental officials.

And while discussion of bumpy sidewalks and high taxes crept in now and again, the evening forum focused on development around the mall, where commercial space has nearly doubled in the past decade.

The candidates largely agreed that further growth was inevitable, but not uncontrollable.

“Some of that area is going to be developed,” said candidate David Nealley, who welcomed the arrival of a controversial Wal-Mart Supercenter, but questioned a plan to place it in a field near the 300-acre marsh off Stillwater Avenue. “But we have to create an opportunity to protect that resource.”

But not every candidate echoed the city council’s familiar refrain that more commercial development means more property tax revenue, which, in turn translates into lower property taxes for homeowners.

“We need to change our way of thinking that we’re going to develop our way out of our problems,” said candidate Matt Tilley, who said he supported using existing structures for retail development whenever possible. “It’s wrong-headed.”

The only incumbent in the field, Councilor Gerry Palmer, said he thought there was room for both development and environmental preservation around the wetland.

“We have a lot of responsibilities,” said Palmer, who added that while he preferred not to shop at Wal-Mart, he recognized its importance. “Like it or not, these big boxes are the economy in many ways.”

The fate of the Wal-Mart project is essentially out of the council’s hands and in the province of the Maine Supreme Judicial Court. The court will hear arguments next week in BACORD’s challenge of the plan, which must still gain state approvals.

With the next council poised to consider several burning issues during the next term – including waterfront development and the future of Bass Park – the slate of candidates is one of the largest in recent years.

James Elmore, a self-employed assessing agent, said he looked to lessen property taxes by supporting a local option sales tax and a review of the financial obligations of tax-exempt organizations to the city.

Annie Allen, a University of Maine employee, said she would work to bring more high-tech jobs to the area and favored a review of the city’s comprehensive plan, which long has targeted the mall area for further development.

While several candidates questioned plans to build a road north of Stillwater Avenue – and through the southern tip of the Penjajajwoc – to open up more land for development, some were supportive of the proposal.

“I’m not sure it’s a bad thing,” said local businessmen Donald “Tripp” Lewis, adding the new road could alleviate traffic on the crowded Stillwater Avenue.

Torvic Vardamis, a 21-year-old college student, said he would strive to increase public participation in the council’s decision, and would be wary of any plan that could harm the marsh.

Stephen Stimpson, a downtown businessman, was out of town and unable to attend, a BACORD spokeswoman said.