Land Bank project updates: Murray Street trail alignment, Grama Road conservation option, signs and staffing

Commissioners reviewed several active land-bank projects and staff updates, focusing on Murray Street trail alignment and parcel status, a developers offered parcel near Grama Road, new land-bank signage, and staffing to support project delivery.

Murray Street and Rosedale: Commissioners reviewed a detailed map of Murray Street-area parcels, which shows a high-priority cluster of land-bank parcels and an informal (social) trail that follows a paper street and dips into several private parcels. Staff and commissioners noted one large landowner holds most of the priority parcels and that tax-acquired status for some parcels needs verification. City staff reported that Lori Paulette in Economic Development will double-check whether specific parcels remain on the tax-acquired list or were removed after taxes were paid.

The group flagged two practical issues: the trail currently follows a paper street and crosses parts of multiple private parcels (small incursions into roughly four or five parcels), and Portland Trails has no formal agreements for use of those private parcels. Commissioners discussed outreach to owners (including past outreach to a Haines family owner who had previously indicated interest) and suggested a parcel-by-parcel approach to acquisition or donation. Staff noted portions of the Murray Street area are in a stream-protection zone and contain a gully that limits developability in some locations.

Grama Road / co-op development parcel: A developer that bought two parcels (one magenta, one light blue on the meeting map) told staff the northern parcel is constrained, is considered excess to their plans and the developer has contacted conservation organizations (Falmouth Land Trust, Portland Trails and others) about disposition. Staff reported Portland Trails and Falmouth Land Trust declined to take the parcel outright; Town (Towne) Land Trust said it might take the parcel only as a last resort. The developer is meeting next week with staff and project managers to identify a disposition option to conserve the site; the property is also on the route considered for the Sebago to the Sea trail extension through the development.

Signage and staffing: Staff reported land-bank identification signs are being installed at North Deering Park, the South Dakota River Preserve and Cankle Woods, and that a third project manager was hired to help deliver larger capital projects (e.g., bridges, parks, pool projects). Separately, a trail-construction contractor (Seabreeze Landscaping) has committed crews through March, providing increased winter capacity for trail work.

Why this matters: the Murray Street work affects neighborhood trail access, potential land acquisitions/donations, and future trail routing; the Grama Road parcel decision could conserve a corridor for the Sebago to the Sea trail and expand protected open space. Additional signage and the new project manager aim to accelerate delivery of land-bank and park improvements.

Next steps: staff will follow up with Economic Development to verify tax-acquired status of Murray Street parcels, reach out to identified property owners for acquisition or donation conversations, convene the scheduled meeting about the Grama Road parcel to identify a conservation disposition, publish updated project lists and circulate the parks/land-bank report to commissioners, and ask GIS for acreage estimates for the holdings map.