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"Ann Arbor Greenbelt Adds 'Cornerstone' Parcels "


May/June Issue, 2006

On April 26, the City of Ann Arbor completed the second and third transactions of the Ann Arbor Greenbelt Program, purchasing the development rights on two properties of farmland, both owned by Bill and Betty Fishbeck, in Salem and Superior Townships. The Salem Township property is 41 acres and the Superior Township property is 115 acres.

"The Fishbeck deal is the cornerstone for preserving land in the northeast section of the Greenbelt," said Mike Garfield, Director of the Ecology Center and Chair of the Greenbelt Advisory Commission. "The properties lie smack in the middle of the 'Salem/Superior Quadrant,' an area identified in the Greenbelt Strategic Plan for its productive working farms and outstanding natural areas. It constitutes Ann Arbor’s last buffer against sprawl development moving westward from Wayne County, and is one of the Greenbelt Commission’s top preservation areas."

Bill and Betty Fishbeck, and their daughter, Anne, on 115 acres of newly preserved farmland in Superior Township

The Fishbecks grow commodity crops on their farms, and the family has been farming Washtenaw County land for over 40 years. The properties are located just north of the Village of Dixboro, and only a mile north of a large block of properties already protected by the Southeast Michigan Land Conservancy. There are additional opportunities around the Fishbeck parcels that could potentially form a larger block of preserved land -- which is a key objective in keeping farming profitable in Washtenaw County.

Due to a large federal grant and to the nature of a PDR (purchase of development rights) transaction, the City of Ann Arbor only had to pay 64% of the properties’ combined $3.1 million value in order to protect them from development in perpetuity. The city received a federal grant from the Farm and Ranch Lands Protection Program for both of the properties, totaling $791,100 in grant funds.

"The federal grant for this transaction is the maximum allowed under the Farm and Ranch Lands Protection program," added Garfield. "The feds clearly agreed with us that preserving these properties is a high priority."

Photo by Ted Sylvester

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