Ballot proposal would protect Ann Arbor's parks from sale

Opinion from the Ann Arbor News:

In the Nov. 4 election, the citizens of Ann Arbor have an opportunity to protect our parkland from arbitrary sale by a future city administration. Turn over the ballot, and down at the bottom there is a proposal to amend the city charter so that parkland cannot be sold without a vote at a general election. Voting yes on this proposal will ensure that the residents of Ann Arbor have a voice in any sale of the city's park areas.

What is the legal background of this proposal? The Home Rule Act, a state law that defines the powers of Michigan cities, forbids municipalities to sell parkland without a vote of approval at a general election. This seems clear enough, but there is an apparent loophole in the act - what if a city decides that a particular piece of property is no longer a park? Can the city ignore the requirement for a vote? Surprisingly, the answer is yes.

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Royal Oak tightens controls on land sales

When tough times have hit Royal Oak recently, the call from many commissioners has been to sell parkland. That's decision does not rest solely in their hands. Under state law, Michigan cities can only sell parkland that is identified as surplus in a master plan. Royal Oak's Park Master Plan does not note any parkland as surplus.

The Commission recently made land sales a little more transparent -- a good thing. A new land sale policy was developed as a result of a proposed development at the site of the driving range and putt-putt golf course.

From the Daily Tribune:

The fourth vote needed to move ahead with a deal aimed at selling the city’s driving range and putt-putt course to a shopping center developer didn’t materialize Monday.

The City Commission seemed to take a step in the opposite direction when it unanimously passed a two-part policy proposed by member Terry Drinkwine that says:

* Elected officials shall not sell any city-owned property unless two public hearings are held prior to the land being put on the open market.

* Any city-owned property offered for sale by the City Commission must go through the competitive bidding process.

We support this new policy. This along with state law may deter parkland fire sales in order to pay short-term bills.

No parks will be sold - for now

From the Detroit Free Press:
For now, efforts to bring more revenue into this cash-strapped city won't include selling off three neighborhood parks.

But the idea still has the support of at least three on the Royal Oak City Commission, which on Monday night narrowly defeated in a 4-3 vote putting Bassett, Rotary and Realtor parks up for sale.

Royal Oak says No to Park Sales

This year the Royal Oak City Commission has considered selling off many Royal Oaks parks. One option was to sell 15 parks and save an estimated $7,750 to $11,000 per year.

On Monday they voted on selling off our parks. Fortunately Commissioners Drinkwine, Ginotti, Lelito and Mayor Ellison blocked efforts to sell off the Bassett, Realtor, and Rotary parks. Commissioners Andrzejak, Miller and Semchena voted in favor of selling our parks.

The Daily Tribune wrote an article "Parks not for Sale" that covered this issue.

Ann Arbor votes to close park sale "loophole"

From the Ann Arbor News:

To some officials, it was a matter of ensuring the public trust that the Ann Arbor City Council won't sell parkland.

To others, it was considered an overreaction to an extremely unlikely occurrence.

The City Council voted 7-2 Monday night to not close what one council member called a loophole that would allow the sale of parkland without a state-mandated vote of the people. First Ward Council Members Bob

State law prevents the city from selling parks land that is part of the city master plan. The "loophole'' surfaced after the city of Novi used 75 acres of parkland in 2002 as part of a settlement with a developer that had won a multimillion-dollar lawsuit against that city. The parkland was part of the 440-acre North Novi Park and was rezoned as "surplus'' property. The developer is using it for residential projects, a Novi city official has said.

Read more at Parkland-sale vote rule loses- mlive.com

OAKLAND COUNTY: New park spot adds to friction

From the Detroit Free Press:

Oakland County is on the verge of spending nearly $2 million for a piece of land that would become the 12th county park.

The 260 acres at Milford and White Lake roads in Highland Township would become Highland Oaks, a park that can be used for hiking, horseback riding, fishing or cross-country skiing. The Oakland County Parks and Recreation Commission will pay $1.9 million for the land, while the Michigan Natural Resources Trust Fund will pick up the other $1.3 million of the cost.

The Oakland County Board of Commissioners is expected to approve the state grant Thursday, paving the way for the park to open in late summer. But some commissioners remain uneasy that yet another park would open in north Oakland while a controversy brews over Catalpa Park, a sliver of land in Southfield that many feel should have been the next county park.

Eight of the county's 11 parks are in the north end of the county, and south-end residents were hoping that adding Catalpa Park to the parks system would help level the playing field.

OAKLAND COUNTY: New park spot adds to friction

Oakland County's Newest Park

Some have claimed that Oakland County Parks does not have the money to acquire parks such as Normandy Oaks in Southeast Oakland County. They certainly have enough money to acquire parks in Northern Oakland County.

From the Spinal Column:
Highland Township is just one step away from being the official home to a new Oakland County park.

After approval by the Oakland County Parks and Recreation Commission in January and approval from two Oakland County Board of Commissioners committees last month, the full Board of Commissioners will make a final decision tomorrow, Thursday, April 5 on whether to accept a $1.44-million Michigan Natural Resources Trust Fund (NRTF) grant to acquire 260 acres in northern Highland.

While the grant will provide $1.44 million, the total purchase price is expected to be $3.6 million. The county is expected pick up about 60 percent of that cost, or $2.16 million. That funding is expected to come out of the county's capital improvement budget, which includes money set aside for land acquisition.
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City Commission rejects Normandy bids

From the Detroit News:

Now, after a year of debate on how to solve the problem, Commissioner Michael Andrzejak asked his colleagues on the commission to dump the idea of selling the golf course and begin a sincere dialogue on how to pay for hiring more cops in a city where narcotics violations jumped 21.7 percent in one year and crime increased 18.7 percent from 2000 to 2005.

"I'm going to leave it to the administration to look to where they reformulate the budget and absorb the costs. The police chief says crime is up Royal Oak had 150 (drug) overdoses. It's an epidemic," Andrzejak said. "The city needs an action plan to address this."

At Monday's meeting, the commission approved Andrzejak's request to reject all proposals for Normandy Oaks because the 2005 bids are now invalid due to a sagging real estate market.

Offers ranged from $4 million and $18 million for the 49-acre property, but many developers have said the bids would need to be re-evaluated based on market conditions. At a budget study session in early February, city officials recommended that a nonbinding vote of the people was needed to determine whether to even sell the nine-hole golf course.

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