Monitoring for Land Use Changes

When dealing with land use issues, the first step is to find what the parcel of land you are interested in is currently zoned under. To find this information, contact your township office and identify the area of land on both the current and future land use maps. These maps will show how the land is currently zoned (the current land use map, and if this zoning is scheduled to change in the future (the future land use map). When fighting against a land development, your next step is then to find what type of construction the developer is proposing. If the developer is proposing something which the land is already zoned for, (e.g. if the land is zoned as ‘single family residential’ and the developer is seeking to build a sub-division) your attempt to stop the development may unfortunately be futile. However, if the construction requires a re-zoning of the land, an empowered and politically active community group can certainly influence the outcome of the proposed development.

When seeking to challenge a proposed re-zoning, it is essential to contact the county clerks office and ask to view a copy of the developer’s proposal for re-zoning. This is public information, and you should have no problems accessing it. You should then ask for the Michigan Municipal Zoning Laws and make sure that the proposed development is legal according to all zoning and other land use plans. At this stage it may be helpful to seek outside professional help, advice from a land appraisal expert or legal expert is suggested, because the zoning laws can often be quite complicated. Throughout this entire process, you must rally community support in favor of your cause, then with the power of organized numbers; write a letter to your zoning commission, (usually known as the Zoning Board of Appeals). This letter should strongly state your group’s opposition to the proposed re-zoning to allow the land development. This letter should include all of the reasons why the development should not be allowed to occur. Reasons that are often regarded highly by the zoning commission include declining land value, or an increased crime rate if the development were to occur. These statements must have factual support behind them, including statistics that were gathered about developments similar the one you are questioning. The more local these developments are the better, if you can find statistics from your own community about the negative effects of other similar developments, you can build a very strong case. Again, the assistance of a law or land appraisal professional is suggested.

After this letter has been written, you must take your evidence to the community hearing which occurs, and is mandated by law, anytime a re-zoning application is submitted for approval. This hearing provides a public forum where community input can be given. It is essential that your organization has a strong representation of supporters at this hearing, and has time allocated to present your argument in its entirety. Before the hearing, be sure to familiarize yourself with the workings of such public hearings. Some such meetings, if you want a significant amount of time, require that you request to be on the agenda for that meeting. If you are not on the agenda, the committee technically has the right to deny you the opportunity to speak, or to limit your time significantly. Information about the specific workings of the meetings can be obtained either from a community member that has experience with such hearings, or a simple phone call to the offices of the zoning board. The secretary of the offices should be familiar with these issues.

For an example, click here (LINK “MonitoringExample.doc”)