The South Portland City Council is considering a plan to double the size of the Conservation Commission and give it a greater role in advising city leaders on preserving open spaces.

Last week, the Council heard a presentation by Shay Bellas of the city’s Conservation Commission that offered long-range goals for the volunteer board.

The group also is seeking to double the size of its voting members from seven to 14, which would enable it to break up into sub-committees and pursue proposed goals, Bellas said.

The Council was scheduled to vote Wednesday on an ordinance that would allow for the additional voting members.

Under the plan, the seven additional members would act as associates and be able to cast votes only if regular members were absent.

“I expect to see more solid work from the commission. They are more organized and more productive and they have new membership,” said Councilor Tom Blake, a founder of the nonprofit, independent South Portland Land Trust.

Bellas said she received positive support from the City Council as a whole.

Councilor Claude Morgan, who was absent from the workshop presentation, e-mailed Bellas with positive feedback, she said.

In Maine, there is a growing recognition by environmentalists that municipal conservation commissions play a vital role in identifying and protecting open spaces. Robert G. Shafto, who directs the new Maine Association of Conservation Commissions, said he sees a direct benefit from communities having “an active, effective conservation commission.”

Despite broad-based concern for conserving Maine’s natural environment, Shafto said, environmental protection often is lacking at the local level.

“That is where much of the pressure originates and where protection is sorely needed,” he said.

One of the South Portland commission’s primary roles may be to update the city’s long-standing Open Space Strategic Plan.

That plan, released in 2001, identified 33 delicate parcels that should be preserved. Of those parcels, 13 have been developed in subsequent years and only two preserved.

The preserved parcels include one at Sawyer Marsh, purchased by the city in 2007, and nearby land next to Trout brook. Portland Trails holds the easement on the 81?2 acres at Sawyer Marsh.

About $40,000 for the purchase of Sawyer Marsh came from the city’s Land Bank Account. The land bank’s remaining balance is $35,000.

At the same time, South Portland also preserved 51?2 acres the city already owned across the road from Sawyer Marsh and next to Trout Brook. It gave the easement to the South Portland Land Trust.

Other key pieces identified in the plan are 60 acres off Stillman Street, owned by the Petrilek family; and the 23-acre Barbary Creek woods, behind the former Irving Station on Broadway.

Another parcel abuts the former armory and is owned by Central Maine Power. If an easement were granted across the land, it would connect the city’s greenbelt with the 49-acre Hinckley Park.

The Conservation Commission would take a lead role in updating the Open Space Strategic Plan. It also would identify ways to tap funding sources to buy lands for preservation and outdoor recreation.

Bellas noted in her presentation that the commission “would like to build the land bank account through private donations, grants and other city revenue streams such as fees for filling in wetlands.”

Currently, the land bank receives 5 percent of the revenues from city lands that are sold. The Conservation Commission would like to increase that amount.

“We will need to work with local, state and federal government, non profit organizations, trusts and businesses,” Bellas also told the City Council.

The volunteer group’s ambitious plans include holding education forums with neighborhood groups and schools on such topics as the effects of lawn chemicals on natural streams.

“We hope to be included in all relevant conversations with the council and boards on all issues related to green space in the city,” Bellas concluded.

She noted that the Conservation Commission does not seek to stop economic development efforts, but find ways that conservation and development can co-exist.

“This is not about stopping development,” Bellas said. “It is about having smarter development, about looking at our needs and deciding how to grow with the least impact on our environment.

“South Portland has the best ecosystem – with wetlands, marshes, rivers and streams,” she added. “Let’s make our natural resources a selling point, too.”

QUESTION IN STORY

A CLOSER LOOK:

The long-range goals for South Portland’s Conservation Commission presented to the City Council last week included:

• Helping to identify key properties the city wants to preserve as open space;

• Playing a role in building the city’s land bank account by applying for grants and soliciting private donations;

• Working to improve green space in existing parks and outdoor recreation areas;

• Creating an inventory of natural assets, including parks, beaches and wooded trails;

• Promoting existing parks and beaches.