Mendon supervisor seeks temporary moratorium as state law limits local controls on large solar projects

Supervisor Mike Kline said the Mendon Township board is considering a temporary moratorium on large-scale solar developments to give the Planning Commission time to review and update the township's zoning ordinance.

"This pause is not a rejection of renewable energy. Rather, it is a vital time bound tool that grants our Planning Commission a necessary runway to study, update and strengthen our zoning ordinances," Kline told residents at the July 7 meeting. He framed the move as intended to protect agricultural land, property values and the township's rural character while the board works on rules for setbacks, noise, decommissioning and battery storage.

Township attorney Jacob Porter told the board the state's recent change — Public Act 233 — constrains township authority and can permit developers to seek certification through the Michigan Public Service Commission (MPSC) if a local ordinance is not judged compatible with state law. Porter said the township cannot lawfully adopt rules stricter than the state permits and offered to research related questions, such as whether local overlay districts are subject to the same preemption.

Porter’s legal assessment means a moratorium must be drafted carefully: if the township's ordinance is deemed incompatible, the moratorium could be used by developers to bypass local review and move straight to the MPSC. Residents urged the board to refer the ordinance and battery storage protections to the Planning Commission and to seek independent review. Kline said he welcomed information from citizens and from neighboring townships pursuing similar action.

Next steps stated at the meeting included further legal review by the township attorney and possible referral of ordinance language to the Planning Commission for revision. No moratorium ordinance was adopted at the July 7 meeting.