Ann Arbor's greenbelt grows, but falling land values may make acquisitions harder

Ann Arbor's greenbelt is moving ahead at full speed but there might be a bump or two in the road ahead.

Excerpt:

Ann Arbor's greenbelt farmland preservation program added more than 330 acres this month, increasing its size by more than one-third, but falling land values have cast some uncertainty on the initiative's future.

Declining values combined with historically high crop prices have greenbelt officials concerned that their offer to purchase development rights from farmers may not be as attractive as it used to be.

The gap between the value of farmland in itself and the development rights is what made the sale of those rights alluring in the first place, and that gap is narrowing, said Peg Kohring of The Conservation Fund, a contractor managing the greenbelt program for the City of Ann Arbor.

"I think the traditional farmer is not going to be motivated at all to sell their development rights," she said. "When you had the development rights higher, it really helped with the farmers' income."

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Ann Arbor's greenbelt grows, but falling land values may make acquisitions harder

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