The Senate Natural Resources Committee this week considered HB 4746. This bill would overturn local control for any mining of natural resources. It would require locals to prove that there are no serious consequences in order to have any ordinance affect a mining operation. The bill as passed by the House simply codifies the Silva case, which the Michigan Supreme Court overturned in 2010.
The “no serious consequences” rule as passed by the Supreme Court in Silva in 1982 created problems for locals because it not only placed the burden on the local officials and community, but it also created a rule that had no basis in law. As such, many lawsuits resulted and different judges ruled differently based on their interpretation of what “no serious consequences” are. The Kassan case in 2010 overturned this and said that according to state law (the exclusionary zoning part of the zoning enabling act), the person/company mining the gravel must to prove that there are “no serious consequences.”
This bill overturns major land use policy because of a situation in Portage Twp (in the upper peninsula) where a gravel mine was shut down. The House this week passed HB 4746 on an 85-25 vote. The Senate committee took extensive testimony, mostly from folks in the U.P. They will be meeting again on Tuesday morning.
The League is opposed to the bill. We are requesting that if something is going to be done, the Legislature will actually put standards into the law instead of referencing the Silva case. We are working with the Legislature to try to create these standards.
Please contact your Senator if you are concerned about this bill.
Andy Schor is the Assistant Director of State Affairs for the Michigan Municipal League. Contact him at (517) 908-0300 or by email at aschor@mml.org.
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