Cape ready to cap open space

CAPE ELIZABETH — As Cape Elizabeth’s Future Open Space Preservation Committee turns its eyes toward growth areas during the last few months of its charge, a recent poll shows a majority or residents don’t think the town needs to preserve additional lands.

The poll, conducted May 3-20 by Portland firm Critical Insights, surveyed 400 residents age 18 and older not affiliated with the Town Council, School Board or open space committee. It claims a 4.9 percent margin of error at the 95^th percentile. In other words, any attempt to duplicate the poll should, in 95 tries out of 100, produce results within 4.9 points of those noted by CI.

According to those results, 61 percent of residents are “very satisfied” with living in Cape Elizabeth, with 73 percent citing the town as “a good place for families.” Another 38 percent praised the Cape school department, while just 18 percent pointed to the town’s character as “small and rural.”

A majority or respondents (56 percent) said they are “very satisfied” with the amount of open space now available in Cape Elizabeth, with new residents of less than 10 years tenure being the most content, with a 65 percent “very satisfied” rate. A mere 1 percent of poll takers claimed to be “not at all satisfied” with the amount of open space now found in town, the same percentage that said they “don’t know.”

When asked if Cape Elizabeth needs to protect more open spaces for “uses such as farms, forests, recreational space, scenic vistas and wildlife habitats,” only 35 percent of residents said yes. Asked why they want more protected open space, one third of the yes votes claimed, “we want as much as we can get.” Fear that unprotected land would be subject to development was palpable for 22 percent of respondents, while 16 percent cited that such spaces “add value to the community.” Just 12 percent cited the importance of farmland.

Of the 57 percent of respondents who said Cape does not need to conserve more land, a full 94 percent reported being “satisfied with what we have.” Interestingly, 5 percent claimed the town “needs more development.” Also of note, in a town where annual income in half of the responding households is greater than $100,000, just three percent of poll takers cited a concern for higher taxes should more land be placed in an exempt status, either as town- or land trust-owned property.

Although a majority of respondents appear satisfied with the amount of open space in Cape Elizabeth, a somewhat different picture emerged when residents were asked to rate potential goals over the next five years. In this case, more people said it is “very important” to protect farmland, wetlands and wooded areas (53 percent, each) that said the focus should be on improving schools (46 percent), maintaining the tax rate (42 percent), improving the town center (16 percent), creating affordable housing (14 percent) or attracting commercial development (14 percent).

When it does come time to preserve open space, more Cape residents favored doing so through regulation (51 percent) than spending money to buy land and easements (36 percent).
Town Manager Michael McGovern declined to comment on the poll Tuesday, saying that while he “took some lessons from it,” he preferred to let the Future Open Space Preservation Committee issue its own opinion first.

Town Planner Maureen O’Meara said Tuesday that while the committee did review results of the $17,000 poll at its most recent meeting, it took no formal action other than voting “to thank the company (CI) for its work.”

Next up for the committee, which has been working since 2010 to implement the recreation and open space sections of the town’s 2007 comprehensive plan, is growth areas. The committee will meet at 7 p.m. on Wednesday, Aug. 15 at town hall to begin looking at where the town should attempt to direct future development.

O’Meara said the committee is expected to wrap up its work by December.