Title
Resolution to Approve Participation in the Purchase of a Conservation Easement on the C. Moehrle Property in Ann Arbor Township, Approve a Participation Agreement with Ann Arbor Township, and Appropriate $122,500.00 (8 Votes Required)
Memorandum
This resolution approves a participation agreement with Ann Arbor Township for the purchase of a conservation easement on approximately 24.18 acres of a farm property owned by the Moehrle family in Ann Arbor Township. The resolution also appropriates $122,500.00 (50% of purchase price) from Open Space and Parkland Preservation Millage proceeds for the purchase.
The landowners applied to the Ann Arbor Farmland and Open Space Preservation Program and the Township has been the lead agency in the negotiations with the landowners. The Township commissioned an appraisal, completed in February 2024, that determined the fair market value of a conservation easement on the property to be $245,000.00. As the lead agency, Ann Arbor Township will be the holder of the conservation easement and will cover due diligence and closing costs in addition to the acquisition costs listed below.
C. Moehrle Property, Ann Arbor Township
The C. Moehrle farm is within one mile of the City on Pontiac Trail. Ann Arbor Township is characterized in part by its smaller farms, often operated by newer and/or younger farmers, and this property is no exception at 24.18 acres. It is adjacent to another farm protected with Greenbelt funds and adds to a 300-acre bloc of contiguous protected land. Under a quarter mile away northeast on Pontiac Trail is another 650-acre bloc of contiguous easement land. The property scored in the 18th percentile of agricultural property applications received by the Greenbelt program in the scoring system developed and approved by the Greenbelt Advisory Commission, but the Greenbelt Advisory Commission considers this parcel a priority for acquisition due its location amidst hundreds of acres of protected land and its h...
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