By Ward Peck
Editor
    The Cape Elizabeth Town Council authorized Town Manager Michael McGovern to spend up to $30,000 to acquire a controlling interest in an 18-acre parcel of land that would allow the town to extend the network of public accessible trails.
    “It’s extremely complicated,” McGovern said.
    The complication arises from the fact that ownership interest in the parcel has become fractured over time and the land was bequeathed to an ever-increasing number of heirs and other parties.
    According to McGovern the town believed it became one such party in 1995 and 1996 when tax liens placed on the property resulted in the town claiming a 1/14th interest in the property. Who controls interest in the other 13/14th of the property is something of a mystery.
    McGovern said researching this interest has resulted in a number of “dead ends” and neither the town– nor anyone else– is even sure how many fraction shares of ownership exist. McGovern said research has indicated that shares of the parcel may be as small as a 1/288th (0.3 percent) interest.
    “We will never own 100 percent of the property,” McGovern said.
    Instead the town will pursue acquiring those interests it can identify and whose owners it can convince to either sell or transfer ownership. McGovern said the town hopes to acquire a majority interest in the property, which he said would give the town certain rights and responsibilities not available to a minority owner. He would not elaborate on exactly what those rights would be since they relate to ongoing negotiations, although he said the intention of the town is to preserve the land as open space. He said residents currently use the property as open space and as an off-road access to other open space including Robinson’s Woods. McGovern said the town would like to ensure that that access remains open and is legal.
    The town’s claim to the 1/14th interest became more secure Monday night after the Town Council accepted releases of ownership claims from two heirs of Dorothy Scott upon whose interest the town placed the tax liens. The town has also identified two estates with interest in the property.
    According to McGovern, a decade ago, Janet Jordan Additon, who controlled a 3/7th interest, communicated a willingness to transfer her share to the town. A recent attempt to contact Additon, who was believed to be living in Bar Harbor, revealed she had died in January, McGovern said. The town is now attempting to establish a dialog with the executor of Additon’s estate.
    The town is also in discussions with Merton Henry, the executor of the estate of Rosella Loveitt, herself an heir of Jedediah Loveitt, who owned the property. In a May 22 letter, Henry expressed interest in transferring Loveitt’s share to the town, “for its assessed value with a deed restriction that it be used only for public purposes.”
    McGovern said he is unsure the extent of the Loveitt estate’s ownership interest but pointed out that the Scott and Additon interests add up to a 50 percent interest and any additional shares would give the town a majority stake.
    The land is sandwiched between the Oakhurst neighborhood to the north, the Sherwood Forest neighborhood to the east, a 37-acre town-owned parcel of open space to the south and several undeveloped parcels off Mitchell Road to the west. Public walking trails extend from Robinson’s Woods to the south in a northerly direction to Locksley Road in the Sherwood Forest neighborhood.
    The parcel in question would allow trails to extend further north to private property off Oakhurst Road. McGovern said there is currently no public access from Oakhurst Road to the parcel.