CAPE ELIZABETH – A puzzle six years in the making has finally been completed in Cape Elizabeth with the public purchase of the last tiny bits of an 18-acre parcel known as the “Loveitt Heirs” property.
Originally laid out in the Cumberland County Registry of Deeds on Nov. 16, 1876, the lot, located off Locksley Road behind the Sherwood Forest neighborhood, is roughly one-fifth the size of nearby Fort Williams Park. The town acquired the lot in 2007 for back taxes and soon began to buy outstanding interest in the property from anyone related to the last known owner, in hopes of adding the entire parcel to Cape’s inventory of open space.
The property is considered a key link between existing portions of Cape Elizabeth’s greenbelt trail and the town center.
“At one point we had the town attorney do a full title search and found that people owned at one point as little as 1/112th of the property,” said Town Manager Michael McGovern.
The main obstacle to completing the purchase has been identifying and contacting the many heirs to whom the property may have descended over the years. The town even resorted to publishing public notices in local newspapers asking anyone with a potential interest in the land to step forward.
At its July 8 meeting, the Town Council voted unanimously to buy the last bit of interest amounting to 2.7 percent in the property once owned by the heirs of Jedediah Loveitt. Phillip Clifford Sr. and Susan Clifford agreed to sell their fractional interest for $8,000.
“I think this is exciting that we’re actually completing the town’s acquisition of this parcel,” said Councilor David Sherman. “I understand some of the reservations that have been expressed but I think it’s a great thing for the town to accomplish.”
Although the vote to complete the purchase was unanimous, it appears there was some discord during negotiations.
“Caitlin didn’t want to spend that much, I know,” said Councilor Jamie Walsh, referring to his fellow councilor, Caitlin Jordan, who reportedly objected to spending $8,000 from the town’s land-acquisition fund on the property.
“It’s better than what they had asked for,” she allowed.
“All of the discussions have been in executive session up to now, so I don’t want to say anything more,” said McGovern, cutting off that line of discussion.
“They proposed much higher, this is much less,” he said. “They have submitted this price to the town attorney.”
The council first voted to proceed with acquiring the Loveitt property at a June 3, 2007, meeting. At that session, it first voted 6-0 to accept any release deeds it could obtain. It then agreed to go into executive session to “discuss the pros and cons of the acquisition of this property.”
After returning to public session, the council unanimously agreed to spend up to $30,000 from the land acquisition fund to acquire all rights to the property, which, at that time, was assessed at $46,000.
In addition to the $8,000 authorized July 8, the council also promised to post a permanent sign at the site, likely at a trail entrance off Locksley Road, explaining the history of the parcel.
McGovern said that once the sale closes, the next step will be for the council to discuss what measures should be taken to add to property to the greenbelt.
The town’s open space plan describes the lot as mainly “wooded with forested wetlands.” In June 2012, the site was featured in the Conservation Commission’s “Trails of the Month” series. The trailhead at Locksley Road extends north toward the Oakhurst neighborhood over an extensive boardwalk and bridgework system, before looping back and to the entry point, where the southern path meets up with the trail system in the Stonegate area.
“The Conservation Commission is still actively attempting to find new access to these trails for the Oakhurst neighborhood,” wrote the commission in its trails-of-the-month write-up. “For several years now, a long open public access point to this portion of the trail was closed.”
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