WESTBROOK – Westbrook restaurateur and 2013 mayoral candidate James Tranchemontagne has organized a petition to “Save Saccarappa Park,” which he calls a “pre-emptive” move to preserve green space downtown and allow Westbrook voters to decide the fate of the park.

Tranchemontagne, who owns the Frog & Turtle restaurant on Bridge Street, said Tuesday that city officials have shown interest in exploring development of the 1.34-acre city-owned property, which is seen as a prime space.

“During the election, the mayor said she wanted to see it developed,” he said. “Right now, a lot of Westbrook city-owned land is for sale, and instead of waiting until there is a deal on the table, we wanted to be proactive and go after saving the park as green space.”

More specifically, the petition calls for an amendment to Chapter 23 of the City’s Code of Ordinances, which already has in place similar guidelines for the use of Riverbank Park.

If the petition succeeds, the amendment would be known as Chapter 23 – Section 1.1: Protection of Saccarappa Park, and would stipulate that the parcel “shall be kept as a park, without any changes to its current size and openness, unless such changes are first approved by a vote of the registered voters of Westbrook, Maine.”

According to Tranchemontagne, official petition papers were taken out Feb. 11, which gives the group 30 business days to collect 1,260 signatures; however, the group has a goal of reaching 1,350 signatures.

Tranchemontage said Tuesday that, including himself, 13 residents have formed a coalition to save the park. He added that while campaigning for mayor last fall, he spoke with only two people who supported developing the parcel.

“If you put a building on that parcel and block the waterfall, you’re blocking our best asset and the heart of our character,” he said.

According to a post on the “Save Saccarappa Park” Facebook page, the site’s history, as well as the open space, are the main considerations of the group.

“We the citizens, of the petition, believe that Saccarappa Park should remain a park free of development, because of the uniqueness of land,” the post said. “Before being named Westbrook, the City was named Saccarappa because of the views of the falls and the importance of the river to the Abenaki Tribe.”

The parcel, which is situated off western Main Street and was once the site of a gas station, has been the subject of development talks since the early 2000s. A series of development proposals for an office building were made from 2003-2007, including plans developed by former Mayor Ken Lefebvre, Dana Warp mill redeveloper Tim Flannery, and more, that never got off the ground.

Supporters of exploring development options for the space believe that the parcel is a prime location for bringing more businesses and residents into Westbrook’s downtown, something that the city has been pushing for some time.

However, Tranchemontagne believes that development is already swallowing the limited green space in Westbrook, and said that years from now the city might miss these small plots of land.

“Fifty years from now, as things are being built up, these little acre-and-a-half plots of land will be huge,” he said. “A little park like this becomes a huge benefit to the city.”

The “Save Saccarappa Park” coalition will be at the Westbrook Community Center on Saturday, Feb. 22, and Saturday, March 1, to rally support for the petition, provide more information as well as gain as many petition signatures as possible.