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For those who weren't in Ann Arbor tonight, you missed some history being
made. Two millage proposals were on the ballot: One in Ann Arbor Township
to fund a farmland PDR program and one in the City of Ann Arbor to purchase
parkland, open space and purchase development rights on farmland in the
townships surrounding the City. Both proposals appear to have
won by overwhelming margins.
The City proposal faced an expensive nasty negative campaign funded largely
by developers and the homebuilders association. Despite the constant
barrage of lies, City voters turned out in record numbers and
appear to have easily approved the proposal 14,524 to 7,270 with
a whopping 26% turnout (very high for an off-election year).
It will replace the existing 0.5 mills parkland acquisition millage with
a new 30 year 0.5 mills Parks and Greenbelt millage. This millage will
allow the City to purchase parkland and open spaces within the City limits
as well as land and development rights outside the City in a defined area,
commonly refered to as the greenbelt.
The Township proposal, which will increase taxes by 0.7 mills
for 20 years, won 1,186 to 355. The Township plans to preserve
2,000 acres of farmland through the purchase of development rights. (see
http://www.aatfightsprawl.org)
By working with the City, the Township will likely be able to preserve
even more farmland and open space.
The approval of these two proposals is going to send shockwaves through
the development community. While some will dismiss these proposals as
yet another example of "Ann Arbor activism", the reality is
that the City of Ann Arbor, Ann Arbor Township and those surrounding Townships
that work with the City on land preservation are no longer going to be
held hostage to the whims of land speculators, developers and judges who
all conspire to work against sound planning principals. No longer
will these communities be forced to constantly react to the latest development
proposal and hope that their zoning and Master Plans will stand up to
a constant barrage of legal attacks. Instead, they will be able
to proactively protect farmland and open space and ensure that growth
goes where it is planned for, not where it best suits the developers interests.
It's likely that the success of these proposals will trigger even
more PDR efforts as surrounding communities realize that PDR
millages can be passed and that they too have to take steps to prepare
for future growth. The Ann Arbor area is
opening an entirely new chapter in land use planning in Michigan.
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