Petition seeking city-wide vote on Ford rezoning rejected; committee plans legal action

MARSHALL — A city-wide vote on rezoning tied to Ford Motor Company's planned electric vehicle battery plant was never possible, per the Marshall city charter, because the ordinance amendment targeted in a recent petition effort included an appropriation of money.

In a letter dated June 16, Marshall City Clerk Michelle Eubank indicated the targeted ordinance, in this case the rezoning of 741 acres of the Marshall Megasite, is not subject to a referendum or vote because the ordinance amendment approved by the city council included appropriations of $40,000 for site plan review services and $250,000 for building inspection services for the development of the proposed project.

Such appropriations make the ordinance amendment ineligible for referendum under Article V, Section 5.01(b) of the city charter.

Eubank also determined the petition lacked the minimum number of valid signatures to place the measure on the ballot, in large part because the bulk of signatures were obtained by circulators that were not part of the five-member petition committee.

Committee members were unaware of this requirement and argue the city charter does not explicitly state that only committee members can collect signatures.

The group behind the petition effort, The Committee for Marshall — Not the Megasite, subsequently requested that the city council review the petition. On Tuesday night, council members upheld the clerk's ruling of insufficiency.

The committee now plans to take legal action on the insufficiency reasons put forward by the city. The group has garnered nearly $23,000 in online donations to help meet legal challenges.

"We are not helpless,” Marshall resident and committee member Regis Klingler said. “We have the opportunity to stop the sprawl of this industrial complex beyond what has already been compromised. We have the chance to save farmland and rethink the future of this area. We can do the right thing.”

The Marshall City Council on May 1 unanimously approved a request to rezone 741 acres of the Marshall Megasite to Industrial and Manufacturing (I-3) Zoning, marking a key step forward in Ford's plans to build the EV battery plant — dubbed BlueOval Battery Park Michigan — on 950 acres of the roughly 2,000-acre Megasite.

The Committee for Marshall — Not the Megasite filed an affidavit with the city clerk to petition for referendum just days after the May 1 meeting. It's unclear as to why the city allowed petitioners to proceed with the collection of signatures, given the ordinance cited in the petition was not subject to referendum.

The committee believes the appropriation was deliberately included in the ordinance by the city to prevent a referendum. A message seeking comment was not immediately returned by Marshall City Manager Derek Perry Wednesday.

The committee ultimately submitted about 810 signatures on May 30, well above the minimum threshold of 578 signatures (10% of registered voters) required by the city charter. However, a legal review determined less than 200 of those signatures were valid.

"Many of the petition sheets were circulated by individuals other than the Committee members in violation of the City Charter," Eubank wrote. "Article V, Section 5.02 of the City Charter requires that the members of the Committee — and only the committee members — be responsible for circulating the petition and filing it in proper form."

Committee members only circulated and submitted referendum sheets with 136 valid signatures, according to Eubank. The other signatures were obtained from circulators that were not members of the committee, she said.

Upwards of 30 Marshall area residents circulated the petition during the month of May. Committee members contend that the city charter does not explicitly state that only the five committee members that filed the affidavit can circulate the petition.

“We were deliberate in our gathering of signatures to ensure we first met the requirement of 10% ofregistered voters within the City of Marshall," Klingler explained. "We went well beyond the minimum to allow for a margin of error."

Ford in February announced its intention to build the nearly 2.5-million-square foot EV battery plant on a portion of the Megasite, a 2,000-acre parcel southwest of the I-94/I-69 interchange in Marshall Township that's been considered for decades as a potential destination for a large-scale manufacturing operation.

Ford plans to invest $3.5 billion to make the EV battery plant a reality, an investment that's expected to create 2,500 jobs when production of lithium iron phosphate batteries begins at the plant in 2026.

Marshall Area Economic Development Alliance CEO Jim Duriansaid the clerk's decision allows the community to focus on the future of Marshall.

“The BlueOval Battery Park Michigan project enjoys widespread public support,” Durian said in a statement. “With this petition drive now rejected, we can focus on the exciting work ahead of creating local jobs for people today and long into the future so young people in our community won’t have to move away from the Marshall area to find a career.”

Contact reporter Greyson Steele at gsteele@battlecreekenquirer.com

This article originally appeared on Battle Creek Enquirer: Petition seeking city-wide vote on Ford rezoning rejected