Title
Resolution to Approve a Participation Agreement with Superior Township and Appropriate $198,000.00 for Purchase of Fee Title to the MLC Cherry Hill Property (8 Votes Required)
Memorandum
This resolution approves a participation agreement Superior Township for the purchase of fee title to approximately 161.84 acres of land owned by the Michigan Land Conservancy, located in Scio Township. The resolution also appropriates $193,000.00 from the Open Space and Parkland Preservation Millage proceeds for the purchase.
Michigan Land Conservancy (MLC) is a nonprofit that only acts as a temporary holder of conservation land; land owned by MLC should not be considered permanently protected. MLC's function is to quickly purchase threatened, important conservation land from private ownership, and hold onto it in its undeveloped state while a permanent conservation organization or government assembles the funds to acquire it. Superior Township will become the fee title holder of the property, opening it as a preserve/park named BirdSong.
MLC Cherry Hill Property, Superior Township
The property is approximately 161.84 acres with direct road access from Cherry Hill Road. Immediately across the road is Cherry Hill Nature Preserve, and adjacent to the south is a large complex of Township-owned land intended for park and preserve use. This acquisition, along with the adjoining described land, would create an uninterrupted 623.5 acres of publicly accessible protected land in the area.
The property is locally known for its birds. There has been a bald eagle nest on site in recent years. Collectively with its adjacent protected land, over 160 bird species have been sited, including migratory and near-threatened species. The property scored the highest of all of open space applications received by the Greenbelt Program in the scoring system developed and approved by the Greenbelt Advisory Commission, rating highly in nearly every category.
Superior Township applied for and...
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