Resident urges city to revisit purchase of two Friend Marsh parcels for conservation

Denise Marion, a resident who lives adjacent to Friend Marsh, asked the Parks and Recreation Advisory Commission on July 14 to consider whether the city could acquire two small parcels now listed for sale to protect pedestrian access and adjacent wetlands.

Marion said she bought her condominium in 2019 because of direct access to nature and described two small parcels listed with Windermere that she said could threaten the Scenic Heights Trail connection and marsh habitat if sold to private owners. “That little triangular shaped thing…is one parcel,” Marion said, and she described the other as a small gray patch near a bank and a pathway to the Scenic Heights Trail.

The request matters because Marion said the city applied for a Conservation Futures grant from the county three years ago, and that application was turned down by the county for being “too vague.” Marion said the grant later was approved by the county with amendments and that the amount “was quite large, like dollars 300,000,” but that the city ultimately declined that offer. She asked whether the two parcels now for sale were the same parcels considered previously and whether the city might purchase them now to preserve shoreline access and wetland habitat.

Brian (parks staff member) responded that the parcels Marion referenced were among several the city had looked at previously. He said the new administration decided to pause further purchase actions and that he did not…