Town-owned property just north of Erie’s Old Town that has been the subject of months of debate is likely to become open space after the Town Council on Tuesday directed staff to move forward with a zoning process.
The roughly 50-acre piece of land lies east of Reliance Park, near where County Road 1 ½ turns into Briggs Street, and has been known as both the Page Property and the Village at Coal Creek.
Erie bought the property in 2023 for $6.9 million using about $3.6 million in federal funding along with money from Erie’s Trails, Natural Areas and Community Character fund. According to town staff, Erie’s Open Space and Trails Advisory Board had expressed interest in the property but could not afford to purchase it alone, leading town leadership to use part of Erie’s allocation from the American Rescue Plan Act — a COVID-era federal relief policy — to complete the deal…