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Cape Elizabeth shifts from planning to implementation on greenbelt trails
Summary
Cape Elizabeth has moved from aspirational greenbelt plans to focused implementation: the town says it has acquired priority parcels, completed about 19 miles of trails and is using a management plan, an assessment, permits and volunteer labor to upgrade and maintain the system.
Maureen O'Meara, Cape Elizabeth town planner, told a Maine Planning Basics webinar that the town has moved from long-range greenbelt visions to day-to-day implementation of trails and open-space management.
The greenbelt effort began as an aspirational plan in 1977 and evolved through updates in 1988 and 2001 into a program that paired land acquisition with public access goals. "We had 800 plus acres of land," O'Meara said of the early 2000s effort. The 2001 plan prioritized five high-priority acquisitions; O'Meara said the town has since acquired all five.
Why it matters: O'Meara said the shift matters because owning land without providing public access limits the public benefit of that open space. The town has moved from vision documents to concrete actions — inventory, management policies, capital improvements and…
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