Ann Arbor Mayor John Hieftje last week discussed the city’s plans to acquire and preserve land in the surrounding townships.

In a tremendous show of support for greenspace preservation, voters Nov. 4 turned out in droves and overwhelmingly approved Proposal B, a half-mill tax to afford that preservation.

The margin was 14,524 to 7,270.

Over the next six weeks, Hieftje said, a nine-member commission will be formed to make recommendations on possible land acquisitions and other aspects of the greenbelt program.

"We’ll get things moving very quickly," he said. "We have a great response from people wanting to serve on that (commission)."

The approved millage, Hieftje said, is actually an extension of a 1988 millage that expires in July 2004. Funds from Proposal B will start accumulating at that time.

The city will likely begin land acquisition soon after that.

"Within a year," Hieftje said, "(but) we have plenty of time to set up our programs."

Hieftje has no definite ideas about where to begin purchasing land, but could begin inside Ann Arbor Township. Voters there already have approved a land preservation millage.

"They were very successful with that," Hieftje said.

Area township officials last week said they are taking a wait-and-see stance on the city’s plans.

In the Dexter area, Proposal B could affect 25 percent of Webster Township and 50 percent of Scio Township.

Webster officials have not taken an official position on the greenbelt, but Scio Township trustees adopted a resolution in support of the proposal Sept. 16.

Although Scio Township Supervisor E. Spaulding Clark said land preservation would not become the township’s top priority, officials are prepared to make financial contributions.

Scio Township is part of Ann Arbor’s regional development board, Hieftje said.

In the weeks before the Nov. 4 election, Hieftje came under fire for not including area townships during the greenbelt planning process. He was accused of dictating land use without consulting everyone who would be affected by it.

Last week, Hieftje answered those charges.

"We started discussing this (plan) five years ago," he said. "There was no reason to redo it."

It would’ve taken another year, Hieftje said, to look at all the studies and plans that had been several years in the making.

"We’ll work with the townships around us," he said.

When land acquisition begins, the city will be looking for areas used for agricultural purposes or land that could be converted to parks or recreation areas.

"We’re not really interested in land that has access to water and sewer," Hieftje said.

Ann Arbor is consistently voted one of the top 20 places to live in the United States., Hieftje said, and officials are adamant about not letting developers plan the city’s future.

"We can do something better here," he said.