School Taking
Until September 2006, the option of expanding the middle school onto Alumni Field was believed to be off the table.
A deed restriction on the property — which was donated to the city by the Peirce family in 1913 with the stipulation that it remain a park — requires the city to go through eminent domain proceedings to use the property for anything else.
In the past, Peirce family heirs have fiercely objected to building on one of the last green spaces left in downtown Portsmouth and the city has largely left it alone.
In 2006, the School Board learned from the city attorney that lifting the deed restriction was a possibility. Discussions over the past two years have focused on keeping the school on Parrot Avenue, but until Tuesday, the School Board had not made a recommendation.
Tuesday, School Board members voted 8-1 to send a "preferred option" of building on the property, to the left of the current middle school on Parrott Avenue, onto the City Council. This decision will have to meet with the approval of the City Council before any eminent domain proceedings begin.
School board members will address the size, programming and other issues at a future workshop.
The taking of reversionary interests is like any other taking of a private interest. Donors of property to the public frequently seek the return of the property if placed in a different use. A tougher issue may be finding all the heirs almost one hundred years later in order to obtain the releases.
