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No. 120213
| Charter
Township of Northville, |
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Plaintiff,
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| and |
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| Heather Schulz, et al, |
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Intervening Plaintiffs-Appellants,
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Susan K. Friedlaender (248) 566-8448 |
| vs (Appeal
from Ct of Appeals) |
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(Wayne
-- MacDonald, J.)
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| Northville Public Schools, et al, |
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Robert A. Lusk (313) 965-7610 |
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Defendants-Appellees.
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Lincoln G. Herweyer |
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Kristin R. Binkley |
Click to view briefs in Adobe format:
Intervening Plaintiffs-Appellant's Brief
on Appeal>>
Defendants-Appellees' Brief on Appeal>>
Michigan Association of School Boards: Amicus
Curiae Brief>>
Michigan Environmental Council, Tip of the MITT Watershed Council, and
Michigan
Land Use Institute: Amici Curiae
Brief>>
Michigan Townships Association and Michigan Municipal League: Amicus
Curiae Brief>>
Background
Northville Public Schools planned to build a new high school on
a 48-acre site in Northville Charter Township. The township contended
that the district's site plan failed to meet the minimum requirements
of the township's land use and development regulations. The school district
asserted that it was not bound by local zoning ordinances. The township
then sued to enjoin the construction. Local residents, some of whose
properties abut the school site, intervened as plaintiffs. The plaintiffs
sought summary disposition and a declaration that the school construction
project was subject to the township's zoning regulations. But Wayne
County Circuit Judge Kathleen MacDonald concluded that Michigan's Revised
School Code, which gives the Superintendent of Public Instruction sole
and exclusive jurisdiction over approval of plans for school building
construction, preempts any local zoning. The township ultimately settled
the case; the intervening plaintiffs appealed. The Court of Appeals
affirmed in a published opinion. The intervening plaintiffs appeal,
arguing in part that the School Code does not preclude all local zoning
regulation. They also argue that applying the statute to pre-empt all
local zoning regulation is an unconstitutional delegation of legislative
authority to the Superintendent of Public Instruction.
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