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Residents warn Mill Street project may require state action to remove parkland restrictions
Summary
Public commenters at the May 12 informal meeting said a Mill Street parcel has historic parkland status and that the city may need state approval to convert it to private development. Residents urged the council to verify deed language and past grant commitments before permitting a sale or large redevelopment.
Several residents told the Common Council at its May 12 informal meeting that a Mill Street parcel proposed for development has been treated as parkland for decades and cannot be converted to private, non‑park use without state action.
"The rule is this: when the municipality owns land that is used as a park or waterfront or public recreation or open space, it cannot sell or develop that property for non park uses without an act of state legislation," said Jack, a Mill Street resident, in a prepared statement to the council.
Jack and other speakers said the parcel’s deed, grant applications and multiple municipal plans refer to the area as Charles Williams Park or open space and that the city used the property in grant applications to secure state parks funding in the 2000s. They said those documents and decades of public use create a legal expectation that the land remains parkland.
Several speakers suggested that the city has not completed a formal legislative alienation — the state process required when municipal parkland is converted to another use — and urged the council to consult the city attorney and state representatives before advancing any sale or development approvals. “I have 10 plus documents about this,” Jack told council members and said he would share his evidence.
City officials at the meeting noted that land‑use and subdivision details are ordinarily addressed first by the planning board and that the council typically sees sales, changes to municipal holdings, or resolutions to proceed with alienation after planning and legal review. Some council members and staff said they would review the deed, grant records and prior public‑space commitments before any final action.
Members of the public emphasized infrastructure concerns tied to the proposed development — including parking, sidewalks and flood management — and asked the council to assess those costs and mitigation needs at the municipal level rather than leaving them to a private developer.
No formal council vote or action to alienate parkland was recorded during the informal session; residents asked for further council review and legal analysis.
