DEALS WILL KEEP 295 ACRES FARMLAND AGREEMENTS PART OF EFFORT TO PRESERVE
OPEN SPACE

By John Mulcahy, Ann Arbor News

December 26, 2006

Nearly 300 acres of farmland in Ann Arbor Township will be preserved under two deals township officials recently completed. Township Supervisor Michael Moran said the agreements will help the township fulfill its preservation goals. One deal includes 153 acres of donated land from a developer; under the other, the township acquired development rights to a nearby 142-acre farm. The agreement with developer Silverman Companies of Bingham Farms includes 38 clustered luxury homes in the southeast portion of about 200 acres west of Nixon Road and north of Warren Road. As part of the deal approved by the Board of Trustees a week ago, the developer will donate 153 acres of the parcel to the township under restrictions that preserve it in perpetuity for farming. "It's not that we seek only to preserve open space and vistas," Moran said. "It's not that we seek only to preserve open space and vistas."Silverman Companies first proposed developing the land in 2004 with the idea of preserving a large portion for farming. The proposal was altered several times before it received final approval Dec. 18. Silverman President Steve Robinson said preserving the farmland next to the development is a selling point because it offers a rural atmosphere just north of Ann Arbor. Silverman will also build 20 single-family homes on land north of Pontiac Trail, Moran said. "The benefit to us is the benefit to the community," Robinson said. That donated farmland is across Nixon Road from a 142-acre farm owned by Dale and Karen Kapp. The township acquired development rights to the Kapps' land Dec. 8, and will preserve it as farmland. The Kapps' property was the first acquired using township funds collected through its 0.7-mill farmland and open space preservation tax, approved by voters in 2003. The township spent $757,000 for the development rights, the Ann Arbor greenbelt program supplied another $757,000, and the federal Farmland and Ranch Protection Program provided $698,500. The township was awarded federal funds for the Kapp development rights purchase in the spring of 2005. Moran said he believes it was the first time in Michigan that a development-rights purchase was made by combining funds from three different governmental entities.