HALLOWELL — City councilors on Monday stood by an endorsement of putting 14 acres of undeveloped land at the Stevens School complex in the local school district’s control.

Residents of Page and Pleasant streets packed the City Hall chambers on Monday after an advisory committee voted unanimously in January to ask the council to reconsider an earlier vote that signaled support for Regional School Unit 2 getting the state-owned land, which is attached to the property at the Reed Center. The school district uses the property as the district’s headquarters.

It’s an early kerfuffle in the city’s work of narrowing down a vision for the 64-acre complex that’s now owned by the state, which is expected to move its last few offices from the site by spring and is expected to market much of it to developers.

The council took no action on the matter Monday, sticking by its original stance after lobbying from neighborhood residents. However, some think the city could be hurting development of the property before a developer is identified.

Sharon Treat, a former legislator from Page Street, said development of the 14-acre parcel could “change the flavor of the neighborhood,” while some feared an extension of Page Street could be built to create access to any new development there.

“Why we’re here is we’re asking you to remove any risk there might be to our neighborhood,” Page Street resident Jeremy Sheaffer said.

The school district has long been negotiating with the state for a transfer of 8 acres around the building the district leases, as well as the 14 acres behind it. RSU 2 board chairwoman Dawn Gallagher, of Hallowell, told the advisory committee that it doesn’t need all of that back portion, but she said on Monday that “we want to do what the citizens want to do” and the district would comply with any city master plan for the land.

Councilor Lisa Harvey-McPherson said Gallagher gave the city “an easy out” on the issue, but she said the council’s position may have created a hurdle for potential developers of the parcel. However, Councilor Lynn Irish said “the other hurdle” is that the district’s negotiations — which must now be done by June, when its current lease expires — could be hampered if its parcel is changed.

Chris Vallee, a member of the Stevens School Advisory Committee, said last week that he’d like to get the property on the city property tax rolls, calling it the “whole purpose of this committee.” But Joan Sturmthal, another member, said on Monday that the entire committee “is not hot” for development in the 14-acre parcel. Rather, she said members wanted it to be considered as part of the larger portion being marketed by the state to make a potential deal as flexible as possible.

“If the council doesn’t agree,” said Gerry Mahoney, a committee member, “then I think we ought to change the name from ‘advisory committee’ to ‘observatory committee.’ ”

Michael Shepherd — 370-7652

mshepherd@centralmaine.com

Twitter: @mikeshepherdme

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