Full Transcript for (Community Matters 178) Ford/MAEDA Attorney: Cannot See Supreme Court Granting Leave in Marshall Case

meantime, this is the way it is, uh, this is the way you expected it to be, and this point of contention, this joint planning commission thing that this whole back and forth, more recent back and forth, has centered on, uh talk about that from your point of view. 00:05:05.920 --> 00:05:19.120 If the joint planning commission was created to help determine the zoning here, but yet both entities, Marshall and Marshall Township, still have purview in this area. 00:05:19.120 --> 00:05:23.680 What's the point of the JPC and uh help us understand that? 00:05:24.000 --> 00:05:27.680 The JPC was created under the 425 statute. 00:05:27.680 --> 00:05:52.560 So there's a uh PA 425 that allows this to take place, and what it was created to do was to govern the things that a planning commission would do in a city or township, and so it has a role, and most definitely has a role, and it is it reviews certain items under the Marshall City zoning ordinance that the planning commission would review in other places in the city. 00:05:52.560 --> 00:06:02.240 So this is N425 transferred property within this location, and it reviews um site plans, it reviews zoning changes, special use permits. 00:06:02.240 --> 00:06:06.240 I don't have a definitive list in front of me, but there's five or six things that it reviews. 00:06:06.240 --> 00:06:29.199 And interestingly, in other areas in the township that have been transferred, so north of 94, the township ordinance applies, and so the JPC does the same thing, but it follows the township ordinance, and that's reflective of what the deal was worked out between the city and the township of this, and it has been done this way now for a number of years, number of different transactions. 00:06:29.199 --> 00:06:49.600 Part of what was submitted to the Court of Appeals was township resolution from a few years ago, recognizing it was advisory, and so you know the parties have recognized that, and the change was that there was an election in the township, and new people came into the township, and they're looking back at what the former township people did, unhappy. 00:06:49.600 --> 00:06:58.000 You know, I don't know exactly the circumstances, but they're interpreting it differently, and that doesn't mean that the agreement changed, it just means that they're looking at it differently. 00:06:58.000 --> 00:07:03.360 And really, the remedy is of this agreement is it's a 2029 expiration agreement. 00:07:03.360 --> 00:07:08.560 In 2029, presumably in mid-2028, they'll they should start renegotiating it. 00:07:08.560 --> 00:07:13.920 And if they don't like what they have right now, they can you know negotiate it into a different deal. 00:07:13.920 --> 00:07:19.920 But the deal that's there now is what was in place at the time, and that's what's binding on the parties. 00:07:19.920 --> 00:07:36.399 So, in the context of what happened here, the JPC denied the zoning change, so that was their recommendation to the city, and the city council declined to follow their recommendation, which is their right under the city zoning ordinance, and so that was final. 00:07:36.399 --> 00:07:45.839 The city's decision was final, and nothing has changed, you know, before or after, you know, other than again different people getting elected to the township that come to a different conclusion. 00:07:46.079 --> 00:07:52.319 Yeah, and so the Joint Planning Commission is really a review authority and makes recommendations. 00:07:52.720 --> 00:07:53.040 Correct. 00:07:53.040 --> 00:07:57.279 Yep, and it I and again, I could think of other circumstances. 00:07:57.279 --> 00:08:06.319 I I was involved in fire prior discussions with the JPC relative to a piece of property that's across from Denny's in Marshall, if you're familiar with that. 00:08:06.319 --> 00:08:20.319 So it was owned by Oaklawn at the time, and JPC made a number of different changes to the zoning ordinance as it was as it was modified, and then ultimately when it went in front of the city council, the city council made some more changes to it. 00:08:20.319 --> 00:08:24.160 And so this is not new, this is not unique. 00:08:24.160 --> 00:08:35.120 And if you think through what they're saying, a zoning ordinance has to be approved by a legislative body, and so how the JPC would have been final, it just defies logic. 00:08:35.120 --> 00:08:38.720 Somebody would have had to give the final approval for it. 00:08:38.720 --> 00:08:52.879 There's I just nobody anticipated that JPC was the final authority, and so it's really looking back at something now at this point, years after it happened, and saying, well, you should have done this, and this is not what the contract, it's not what the law provides. 00:08:52.960 --> 00:09:10.799 So and of course, that the whole question of a referendum and signatures for the ballot, and none of that got any further in all these discussions because the Court of Appeals and thus uh I suppose the Supreme Court were focused on this JPC question and none of those other things came up. 00:09:10.799 --> 00:09:12.559 Could that come around again? 00:09:12.559 --> 00:09:14.000 And is that a concern? 00:09:14.399 --> 00:09:16.000 So I don't think so. 00:09:16.000 --> 00:09:28.960 So my interpretation, which was backed up by a long footnote at the end of the Court of Appeals case, was that the only thing that was opened up by the Supreme Court was this narrow JPC issue. 00:09:28.960 --> 00:09:39.519 So they what they said, what the court of appeals said was we're gonna go ahead and recite everything that was in our prior opinion just to make absolutely crystal clear that we're ruling on all those things again. 00:09:39.519 --> 00:09:48.639 Yeah, but we don't believe that we had to, and we believe that the statement of the appellants that all the issues were opened up by the Supreme Court is just wrong. 00:09:48.639 --> 00:09:57.519 And so my thought is that the only issue in front of the the Supreme Court at

this point would be this JPC issue. 00:09:57.519 --> 00:10:01.840 That having been said, as you've learned with this in other cases, I mean it Mr. 00:10:01.840 --> 00:10:05.600 Doobie will argue what he argues, and you know, we'll we will respond in kind. 00:10:05.679 --> 00:10:21.679 So this other case, the clam like case, was brought to the attention of the court because there was thought to be, by some, some relevance in that case to this one, but the court didn't see that either. 00:10:21.919 --> 00:10:34.399 And I guess the thing that was interesting, the Supreme Court had the ability to make the finding that the court of appeals was right, but did so on alternative grounds, and they and they could have affirmed. 00:10:34.399 --> 00:10:39.279 And so I'm you know, I don't I can't see inside their uh collective heads, of course. 00:10:39.279 --> 00:10:50.080 And you know, basically their their order was a one-paragraph, one-line order, but it looked like they wanted to just make absolutely sure that that issue was covered by the parties. 00:10:50.080 --> 00:10:51.120 And when Mr. 00:10:51.120 --> 00:10:57.200 Doobie and the appellants raised it, it was after everything had been already briefed before in the Court of Appeals. 00:10:57.200 --> 00:11:00.399 That issue was never raised in in the Court of Appeals before. 00:11:00.399 --> 00:11:07.919 And so it was really a new, I would say the the the kind of the concept had been raised before, but not the clam lake case. 00:11:07.919 --> 00:11:26.320 And so Supreme Court, I think, probably is intending to make the law crystal clear on this case, and you know, obviously lot riding on this, you know, from the state of Michigan and you know, billions of dollars of investment by Ford and by by the state of Michigan, and wants to make make sure things are crystal clear. 00:11:26.720 --> 00:11:32.320 So let's talk about your purview about the Supreme Court, your thought that they won't hear this. 00:11:32.320 --> 00:11:42.399 We presume then that the chances, in your opinion, the chances of them listening to this now are less than they were the first time around. 00:11:42.720 --> 00:11:46.799 Yeah, I mean I'm reading it as Court of Appeals, go back and consider this. 00:11:46.799 --> 00:11:50.480 And you know, there was not much else in the opinion, right? 00:11:50.480 --> 00:12:00.240 Go back and consider it, and that's been done, and they issued uh you know, well thought out comprehensive opinion, three to zero, all the judges unanimous. 00:12:00.240 --> 00:12:06.320 And again, when it's a published decision, that means it's intended to be you know binding as precedent in the state of Michigan. 00:12:06.320 --> 00:12:11.759 So it's got all the hallmarks of you know, back to the Supreme Court, we did everything you asked us to do. 00:12:11.759 --> 00:12:13.360 So there you go. 00:12:13.360 --> 00:12:17.039 It's it's back to you to take a look at it and see if we did anything incorrectly. 00:12:17.039 --> 00:12:19.440 But I don't know what that would be at this point. 00:12:19.440 --> 00:12:20.639 I really, really don't. 00:12:20.639 --> 00:12:32.480 And it was interesting that I did not, so the township ended up filing uh a motion to intervene, which was denied, but they filed an amicus brief, so it's like a friend of the court brief. 00:12:32.480 --> 00:12:43.440 And really they argued, as others have, that if you read this agreement to create this 425, if you read the first part of it, it says one thing, and that's the end of their argument. 00:12:43.440 --> 00:12:59.919 They never addressed the second part, which clearly is the appendix that's attached, and it's subject to the things in that appendix, and that's where you have the provision that the city of Marshall zoning ordinance applies in certain areas, and then the Marshall Township zoning ordinance applies in other areas. 00:12:59.919 --> 00:13:01.600 And it just they don't address it. 00:13:01.600 --> 00:13:06.960 And the court appeals said that's the agreement you guys reached, and we we have to follow the agreement the parties reached. 00:13:07.039 --> 00:13:17.279 So let's all these conversations we've had have focused really on Marshall, on Calhoun County, and the uh nexus of this uh issue. 00:13:17.279 --> 00:13:21.519 But let's zoom out a minute, and you referred to this, alluded to it a moment ago. 00:13:21.519 --> 00:13:30.480 What's the precedent here, if any, in all of this as it relates to future development in Michigan? 00:13:30.480 --> 00:13:32.399 Is the state watching this? 00:13:32.399 --> 00:13:38.720 Are there certain aspects of it that uh development leaders are keenly watching? 00:13:38.720 --> 00:13:40.240 What's your view on all that? 00:13:40.480 --> 00:13:51.679 I don't have a lot of insight into that, but I will tell you the the little bit that I've learned is that the relationship between the cities and the townships is very important for development in the state of Michigan. 00:13:51.679 --> 00:14:02.480 So you think about where the available land is at and it's in the townships, and where the services come from, and it's in the cities, and so they have to cooperate. 00:14:02.480 --> 00:14:17.519 And the 425 statute that we talked talk about, this public act 425, was intended to be a way for them to find a truce, not have annexation, and to have a truce and to basically allow them to work with each other. 00:14:17.519 --> 00:14:32.000 And so, what this looks like for the rest of the state of Michigan is and this is gonna come up with data centers now, which is the current topic, but you can't locate in a township if there's no water and sewer, uh, any kind of industrial concern. 00:14:32.000 --> 00:14:42.080 And so you have to have a relationship through a 425 agreement, and so these agreements become very important, and so the details of how all this works out, I think, is being watched closely. 00:14:42.080 --> 00:14:56.240 And it's it's also important,

and I've learned from dealing with site selectors in that are dealing multiple states, is that other states don't have these 425 agreements, and so if you are GM and Forge, you grew up here, right? 00:14:56.240 --> 00:14:58.799 So so you're they've been around for a long time. 00:14:58.799 --> 00:15:07.600 But if you're for whatever manufacturing concern and you're gonna come put a whatever you're gonna make in Michigan, all of a sudden you have to deal with this 425 agreement. 00:15:07.600 --> 00:15:09.600 What is exactly does that mean? 00:15:09.600 --> 00:15:35.360 And again, what happened with Goshen in Goshen, the township changed, township board changed, they then tried to terminate agreements that have been in place with a prior township board and ended up in a lawsuit that ultimately in federal court and companies like predictability, and so that's what has to be ironed out with these 425 agreements is predictability, you know, for the company to be able to invest in the in the community. 00:15:35.759 --> 00:15:36.960 It doesn't go away, right? 00:15:36.960 --> 00:15:44.799 I mean, these concerns are still around, and uh you point out data centers, that is the next big question. 00:15:44.799 --> 00:15:54.080 And boy, there are entities around Michigan that have said, nope, we're not gonna have any hearing moratorium on them. 00:15:54.080 --> 00:16:01.120 And if there's not, there are some municipalities that are being encouraged by residents to to do so. 00:16:01.120 --> 00:16:02.960 Right, absolutely, absolutely. 00:16:02.960 --> 00:16:05.679 This probably won't be the last time we talk about this. 00:16:05.679 --> 00:16:07.200 No, right, right. 00:16:07.200 --> 00:16:16.639 All right, well, uh, we'll stay in touch, of course, and you pointed out the hiring is underway, and the construction is nearly done, right? 00:16:16.960 --> 00:16:24.799 Yeah, I mean the the process right now is that MAEDA had the site ready, which was the the bulk of what MAEDA was asked to do by the state. 00:16:24.799 --> 00:16:32.720 That's been done for a while, and so we are in the process of transferring various aspects over to the city of Marshall. 00:16:32.720 --> 00:16:41.120 And again, the the things that made us constructed the sewer system and the water system, those things are being used now by Ford. 00:16:41.120 --> 00:16:47.919 You know, they are to point that again, Walbridge was the general contractor, and Walbridge is in the process of turning things over to Ford. 00:16:47.919 --> 00:16:52.399 So we are a couple months out from production, uh, which is which is very exciting. 00:16:52.399 --> 00:16:55.279 The other thing that's very exciting, and I'm a car guy, right? 00:16:55.279 --> 00:17:01.919 And so watching the announcements have been there's been a bunch of announcements recently by Ford about the Universal EV platform. 00:17:01.919 --> 00:17:09.519 Yeah, and so that's the new structure that's gonna carry this LFP battery, and then Ford's gonna build this $30,000 vehicle on top of it. 00:17:09.519 --> 00:17:11.759 And I I can't wait for them to announce it. 00:17:11.759 --> 00:17:15.039 I check my social media every morning to see when they're gonna announce it. 00:17:15.039 --> 00:17:18.000 You know, I've asked the four people, why don't you bring it to Marshall? 00:17:18.000 --> 00:17:23.440 I'm not sure they're gonna they're gonna do that, but yeah, very exciting to see that move forward. 00:17:23.680 --> 00:17:25.119 I'm curious about it too. 00:17:25.119 --> 00:17:26.640 Uh I'm curious to see. 00:17:26.640 --> 00:17:29.279 And here we are, kind of in the middle of it. 00:17:29.519 --> 00:17:30.400 Yeah, very much. 00:17:30.400 --> 00:17:35.440 I know every one of the articles mentions LFP batteries made in Marshall, Michigan, Michigan, which is very cool. 00:17:35.680 --> 00:17:40.400 All right, Richard, we always appreciate your uh point of view, and uh we'll stay in touch. 00:17:40.640 --> 00:17:41.519 All right, thanks, Richard. 00:17:41.519 --> 00:17:42.160 Good to join you. 00:17:42.400 --> 00:17:46.400 Attorney Richard Lindsey from Marshall on Community Matters.