Solar panels OK for home, legal battle over for Canton couple

The push for alternative and renewable energy production in Michigan received a small but important boost recently when a Canton, Michigan homeowners’ association (HOA) backed down from its initial decision to deny the installation of solar cells on the roof of a home.  Here is an excerpt from the Detroit Free Press article: (more…)

2010 Michigan Townships Association Educational Conference Session

Thank you to everyone who attended our recent session on regulating small wind turbines at the recent Michigan Townships Association conference in Grand Rapids. Click here to view our PowerPoint presentation, and to download the handout materials. Click here to contact Mr. Nanney directly with any additional questions.

The following was adapted from an update prepared by Kurt Schindler at MSU-Extension; reprinted with permission from the author:

The Michigan Commission on Agriculture has adopted a new Generally Accepted Agricultural Management Practice (GAAMP) for farm markets (effective January 2010).

NOTE:  Under Michigan’s sweeping Right to Farm legislation, if the subject is covered by GAAMP standards issued by the Michigan Department of Agriculture, then it entirely preempts local zoning, including any special use approval or prohibition of the land use!

What is a “farm market” under the new GAAMP?

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Contact Building Place today to arrange for Mr. Nanney to speak to your group on this or other planning and economic development topics.

“What’s all the fuss about alternative energy production these days?”

That’s a question heard far less often now that we have experienced gasoline prices above $4 per gallon (and creeping up again), and huge increases in home heating and electricity costs this past winter.

Alternative and renewable energy facilities are “in” these days, especially in the halls of state government in Lansing.  Governor Granholm has put the spotlight on new, Michigan-based wind turbine and solar energy manufacturing plants, and the state and federal governments are pushing for more “green” energy production through incentives and mandates.

Today’s renewable energy technology is a vast improvement over 1970s Do-It-Yourself passive solar installations and high-maintenance windmills.  Most importantly, the cost of solar cells, wind turbines, and geo-thermal heating/cooling systems have come down significantly as technology improves and production increases.

PLANNING FOR OUR ENERGY FUTURE:

Michigan Governor Jennifer Granholn recently signed into law the Clean, Renewable, and Efficient Energy Act (see below after the break for more information), which is intended to make Michigan a far more attractive place for investments into alternative and renewable energy projects and manufacturing operations.  Coupled with the state’s economic development efforts to move beyond an automobile manufacturing economic base, it is important for local communities to “plan for our energy future.”

Here are five things local communities can do to be ready for an alternative and renewable energy future in Michigan:

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“Guests, like fish, begin to smell after three days.” – Benjamin Franklin

With 3,288 miles of shoreline in the State of Michigan (second only to Alaska) and 11,000 inland lakes, Michigan planners working for local government regularly come into contact with two state agencies with jurisdiction over our water, the Department of Natural Resources (MDNR) and the Department of Environmental Quality (MDEQ).

It is the MDNR side that is the focus of our next Building Place Notebook case summary, posted below courtesy of Kurt Schindler at MSU-Extension.

This is a cautionary tale about why it is better for state agencies and other entities considering projects over which local  authority is in question (such as new public school construction) to take the extra time to work collaboratively with local governments on projects in their jurisdiction.

What attracted The Zoning Guru‘s attention to this case was the fishy smell wafting off of a state agency’s attempt to preempt local regulations…

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