Save Scarlett - Mitchell Woods

Save Scarlett-Mitchell Woods

Nestled in between Platt Rd., Ellsworth Rd., and US 23 is a beautiful piece of land known as Scarlett-Mitchell Woods. For the past two and a half years, the residents of the community nearby the woods have been waging a campaign to convince the Ann Arbor School Board not to build a proposed new high school on the site where the woods presently is.

In the fall of 1969, several teachers and Colonial Square residents noticed that a number of trees had been cut down and that there was a large amount of garbage dumped in the woods. There was also a considerable amount of concern over instances of vandalism. It was soon discovered that the entire future of the woods was in danger as the Ann Arbor School Board had plans to build a new high school on the site. Throughout the winter and spring of 1970, teachers, students, and residents organized to try and figure out how the woods could be saved. It was further discovered that land on both sides containing parts of both the woods and swamp, was planned for construction of housing units, by B Building Corp. on the one side and Glacier Corp. on the other. Numerous speaking dates were set up, a slide show of pictures of the woods was shown, and public support just generally grew for saving the woods. The group and the drive itself became known as Operation Mitchell-Scarlett Woods. Tours and clean-up campaigns were set up for people to see what the proposed plans would do to the woods.

In May of 1970, the Ann Arbor School Board decided that another site would be sought for the school, and that the woods should be preserved as a nature center. The residents further proposed that 40 acres of the land belonging to Glacier Corp. to the east and part of the land to the west also be purchased and the whole site would be preserved. As of now no final decision has been made about that proposal.

Mitchell-Scarlett Woods is just one more example, Mke Packard-Beakes and Lansky's junkyard, of how the present city government and school board are completely unresponsive to the people. When planning the city, they do not even consider the effect their decisions will have on the people living in the community or the ecological effect it will have on the land. Furthermore, they continue to call for more expansion at a time when we need to slow down and really consider the effect our decisions will have. The residents of the neighborhood feel they "can't trust either the city or the school board." The answer to that is to elect people who will represent the real interests of the poeple.

All Power to the People.

Vote HRP April 3.