The town of Brighton is buying more than 40 acres of open green space from a church.
The meadow used to be farmland, and for decades, it has gone undeveloped under the ownership of Faith Church.
It’s a place that Brighton Supervisor Bill Moehle describes as a vital habitat for wildlife.
“I was out there today looking out over the land,” Moehle said. “You can see the hawks, you can see the deer.”
On Tuesday, the town and Faith church announced that they have reached an agreement for the town to buy the 44 acres located near Winton and Westfall roads for about $1.8 million.
"It's really the opportunity to, you know, to preserve that kind of open space," Moehle said.
The town anticipates that the additional cost for a taxpayer owning a home valued at $200,000 will be less than $7 a year.
It remains one of the only undeveloped properties in Brighton. Moehle says while it will not be used for commercial development, residents will have an opportunity to share their input on what should be done with it.
“It's an important parcel of land, we've heard from people for many years, they'd like to see it preserved. And this is the day we can say, ‘yes, that's what we're going to do, this is going to be town land,’” he said.
The town had made several attempts to purchase the land many years before, including initiating proceedings for eminent domain, which ended up in court. Both sides settled, and Brighton was able to buy a portion.
In a statement, Pastor Steve Edlin with Faith Church said the sale of the land allows the church to “further serve its members and extend its reach of service into the community.”
“Today’s sale is a step in a fresh, new direction for our church and for whom we serve,” Edlin said. "We are excited to see Supervisor Moehle and the town board's vision come to life with the addition of this property, and we will continue praying for their wisdom and for the benefit for all Brighton residents.”
