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How a utility-scale project gets approved in Michigan.

The central milestone is the Special Use Permit, granted by the township or the county where the project stands. Everything before it builds toward that vote, and everything after it depends on it. This is the route, stop by stop.

A site

The route, from a site to commercial operation.

Every community is different, and the order of the work is nearly always the same. At each stop: what happens, who decides, and what we do.

  1. Land

    What happens
    The developer secures the ground: purchases, leases and options on the site, and the right of way to reach it.
    Who decides
    Each landowner, one at a time. Nobody votes yet, but the landowners who sign become the project's first local voices.
    What we do
    We handle acquisition, leasing and right of way, and we offer participation agreements to the nearest neighbors.
    Project site 300 feet
    A participation agreement is for the near neighbors: the homes within 300 feet of the project.

  2. Community

    What happens
    The community hears about the project, ideally from the people proposing it and well before a hearing notice arrives.
    Who decides
    No one, formally. But this is when residents and officials form the views they will bring into the room.
    What we do
    We knock on doors, run education events and surveys, staff booths at fairs, and work with chambers of commerce and economic development groups.

  3. Application

    • Township or county
    What happens
    The developer files for a Special Use Permit under the local zoning ordinance. A community with no zoning may need only a comfort letter.
    Who decides
    The township or the county, whichever holds zoning authority. Its ordinance sets what the application has to show.
    What we do
    We read the ordinance first, judge whether it is workable for the project, then write the application and carry it.

  4. Hearings

    • Planning Commission
    • Township or county Board
    • Zoning Board of Appeals, sometimes
    What happens
    The application is heard twice, in public. The Planning Commission reviews it and makes a recommendation. Then it goes to the Board.
    Who decides
    The Board. The commission recommends, and the township or county Board casts the binding vote. If the project needs a variance, the Zoning Board of Appeals hears that separately.
    What we do
    We prepare both hearings and we are in the room for them.
    1. Planning Commission Reviews and recommends.
    2. Township or county Board Casts the binding vote.
    3. Zoning Board of Appeals Sometimes, for a variance.
    The commission recommends and the Board votes. Both hold a public hearing. The number of seats varies by community.

  5. Approval

    What happens
    The Board approves the permit, sometimes with conditions. The conditions are then worked through until they are final.
    Who decides
    The same Board that voted. The conditions are its terms.
    What we do
    We manage the conditions with the township until each one is settled.

  6. Conditions and construction

    • Road Commission
    • Drain Commissioner
    • State environmental regulator
    What happens
    With the conditions final, the project is built and then begins commercial operation.
    Who decides
    Other bodies have their own part in the path: the Road Commission, through a road use agreement; the Drain Commissioner; and the state environmental regulator, which in Michigan is the Department of Environment, Great Lakes, and Energy.
    What we do
    We stay on site as the project's local presence through construction.

Commercial operation

The other path: state siting

Most projects are decided locally, by the route above. In Michigan there is a second path for large projects. When the local path is not workable, a project can go to the state, where the Public Service Commission can site it under Public Act 233.

The two paths ask for different work. Which one fits depends on the community and its ordinance, and that is a judgment to make early.

What we read in a community

Before we tell a developer what a project will take, we answer six questions about the place.

  • Where does the voting body stand?
  • Where do the other officials stand?
  • Is the ordinance workable?
  • How strong are the signed landowners?
  • How organized is the opposition?
  • Who else has influence?

The answers decide what comes next: more doors, an education event, a participation agreement, a community benefit package.

Let's get your project moving.

Reach out today and let's start the conversation.

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