YORK - It is a property of 150 acres of field and forest, wetlands, wildlife corridors and watershed, and the town now has the opportunity to help preserve it forever.

Doreen MacGillis of the York Land Trust approached the Board of Selectmen at its most recent meeting to speak publicly for the first time about a year of ongoing negotiations between area conservation organizations and the owners of the historic Highland Farm property on Cider Hill Road in York.

"I'm here tonight because we have an extraordinary opportunity. It is one of the most significant and ambitions opportunities to come to the people of York," MacGillis told the selectmen with Wolfe Tone, her colleague from Trust for Public Lands.

Although a 12-lot subdivision had already been approved for one portion of the parcel, and a 25-lot second subdivision has been before the Planning Board, the owner has been working with conservation groups on another option, following repeated public hearings opposing residential development at the site. MacGillis explained that approximately 150-acre parcel has been appraised at $2.7 million, and a verbal agreement is now in place to purchase that land and protect it from future development in perpetuity.

This is not the first time the York Land Trust has approached the town and sought voter approval for such an effort. Lands that were preserved in recent years include the Linscott Road and Josiah Norton Road parcels.

MacGillis asked the board to consider requesting voter approval for $500,000 toward the $2.7 million price of Highland Farm and an additional sum of up to $500,000 to create a reserve account for future preservation efforts. Anticipated funding sources for the purchase include the Land for Maine's Future, Kittery Water District, town of York, a private fundraising campaign and the Coastal and Estuarine Land Conservation Program.

"It's going to take an extraordinary commitment from all of the contributors to the project to make this successful," MacGillis said.

Tone and MacGillis said the town's partnership, if voters approve appropriating funds toward the effort, will allow the organizations leverage when applying for grants and seeking other donors.

They said the property has many exceptional features, both ecological and aesthetic. Boulter Pond serves as the drinking water supply for Kittery, as well as for many York properties, and the area includes an array of flora and fauna. There is also a rich cultural history, MacGillis said, with a cellar-hole and old cemetery on the site, as well as a picturesque farm pond that attracts many birds.

"This property would link all of the 60 miles of trails that are in the Mount Agamenticus region," MacGillis said, describing a trail network where residents would be able to walk all the way from the mountain's summit to the York River on protected lands. "That is a vision we'd really like to see happen for the benefit of York and its citizens."

The historic Highland Farm manor house itself has been meticulously renovated by the owners, and the acres on which it stands already have a conservation easement with the York Land Trust preventing further development there.

Tone said the first step in the process of preserving the remaining lands will be to conserve the 128 acres of the larger lot of the parcel, which abuts Boulter Pond, with efforts ongoing through February of 2009 and closing expected that April. Once that effort is complete, the next step will be to close on the 22 acres of the front portion, which had been approved for the smaller subdivision. Both parcels are included in the $2.7 million asking price.

"I think this is fabulous. I followed the Planning Board process ... I've seen what they've had to go through with the huge amount of acreage," Selectman Dwight Bardwell said after the presentation, adding, "By far, I think the best thing to do with that land will be to let people roam all over it and view the York River."

However, Bardwell and his fellow selectmen expressed concern about presenting one combined request for $1 million for two separate projects to the voters, and suggested individual requests for the Highland Farm preservation and a fund for future projects.

While those specifics will be worked out in the budgeting process in the months ahead, all five selectmen told MacGillis and Tone they have the board's full support in moving forward with the Highland Farm request.

In other business, Tom Carnicelli of the Tax Task Force told the selectmen the committee's recommendation for budget increases in the year ahead is 4.2 percent for town and school operating costs, which is .5 percent less than last year, based on a formula considering property valuation, the cost of living and the increases in the costs of fuel, and $8.6 million for capital projects.

Also at the meeting, selectmen endorsed a proposal to work with other communities to attract a regional industrial park to southern York County. York is joining the Berwicks, Wells, Eliot and Kittery in signing on to legislation being presented in Augusta supporting the plan. Before an actual project could be built in any of the partner communities, voter approval would be required.

Selectmen also learned that a petition has been presented requesting the town to forbid housing developments in neighboring towns with sole access through York as the result of an application before the Planning Board for a five-lot Kittery subdivision off of Woodside Meadow Road in York

The board also approved appointments to the Senior Center Advisory Board and York Housing Authority after asking for clarifications from both organizations and changes to the appointment process for the YHA.

At its Dec. 10 meeting, the board heard from Police Chief Douglas Bracy and Lieutenant Bob Scamman about a Coast Guard plan to locate a wireless communication tower in York, which would provide service for local public safety organizations but is of concern in terms of impact on neighbors. The board also discussed the state's shoreland zoning and the town's growth ordinance.

Each of those three issues will be looked at in greater detail after the New Year.