HOUSE BILL NO. 4875
A bill to amend 2006 PA 110, entitled
"Michigan zoning enabling act,"
by amending section 205 (MCL 125.3205), as amended by 2018 PA 366.
the people of the state of michigan enact:
Sec. 205. (1) A zoning ordinance is subject to all of the following:
(a) The electric transmission line certification act, 1995 PA 30, MCL 460.561 to 460.575.
(b) The regional transit authority act, 2012 PA 387, MCL 124.541 to 124.558.
(c) The small wireless communications facilities deployment act, 2018 PA 365, MCL 460.1301 to 460.1339.
(2) A county or township shall not regulate or control the drilling, completion, or operation of oil or gas wells or other wells drilled for oil or gas exploration purposes and shall not have jurisdiction with reference to the issuance of permits for the location, drilling, completion, operation, or abandonment of such wells.
(3) An ordinance shall not prevent the extraction, by mining, of valuable natural resources from any property unless very serious consequences would result from the extraction of those natural resources. Natural resources shall be considered valuable for the purposes of this section if a person, by extracting the natural resources, can receive revenue and reasonably expect to operate at a profit.
(4) A person challenging a zoning decision seeking zoning approval for extraction by mining of valuable natural resources under subsection (3) has the initial burden of showing that there are valuable natural resources located on the relevant property, that there is a need for the natural resources by the person or in the market served by the person, and that no very serious consequences would result from the extraction, by mining, of the natural resources.
(4) Natural resources shall be considered valuable for the purposes of this section if a person, by extracting the natural resources, can receive revenue and reasonably expect to operate at a profit.
(5) Taking into consideration the standards in this section and any mitigating conditions offered by the applicant or authorized to be imposed by the local unit of government as part of a zoning approval, a very serious consequence would result if the proposed extractive operation is reasonably expected to result in any of the following:
(a) A material change to the planning and zoning policy for the zoning district
(b) Harm to the environment.
(c) An undue financial burden on the local unit of government or the property owners surrounding the relevant property or the haul route.
(d) An undue impact on the protections provided by zoning regulations for the district that were reasonably anticipated by property owners to protect their fundamental purchase expectations.
(6) (5) In determining under this section whether very serious consequences would result from the extraction, by mining, of natural resources, the standards set forth in Silva v Ada Township, 416 Mich 153 (1982), shall be applied and all of the following factors may be considered, if applicable:
(a) The relationship of extraction and associated activities with existing land uses.
(b) The impact on existing land uses in the vicinity of the property.
(d) The impact on pedestrian and traffic safety in the vicinity of the property and along the proposed hauling route serving the property. A proposed hauling route that runs through or adjacent to a historic district designated under the national historic preservation act, 54 USC 300101 to 307108, or adjacent to other property listed on the national register of historic places under that act, or that runs through or adjacent to a historic district established under the local historic districts act, 1970 PA 169, MCL 399.201 to 399.215, shall be presumed to result in very serious consequences. The presumption may be rebutted by clear and convincing evidence.
(e) The impact on other identifiable health, safety, and welfare interests in the local unit of government.
(f) The overall public interest in the extraction of the specific natural resources on the property.
(7) Notwithstanding anything to the contrary in this act or any other statute or ordinance, a local unit of government may by ordinance or permit action prevent the extraction by mining of natural resources if the property on which the mining will occur is a facility or is located within 1 mile of a facility, whether or not response activities or corrective action have been completed at the facility. As used in this subsection, "facility" means that term as defined in section 20101 of the natural resources and environmental protection act, 1994 PA 451, MCL 324.20101.
(8) (6) Subsections (3) to (5) (7) do not limit a local unit of government's reasonable regulation of hours of operation, blasting hours, noise levels, vibration levels, dust control measures, and traffic, postextraction reclamation to stabilize property, including security for completion of reclamation, or other local matters if both of the following apply:
(a) The regulation is not preempted by part 632 of the natural resources and environmental protection act, 1994 PA 451, MCL 324.63201 to 324.63223. However, such
(b) The regulation shall be is reasonable in accommodating customary mining operations.
(9) The local unit of government shall make a final decision on an application for zoning approval to extract natural resources by mining not more than 1 year after receiving a complete application. An application is complete if either or both of the following apply:
(a) The application contains all of the materials specified in the local unit of government's ordinance governing the application.
(b) The local unit of government does not notify the applicant in writing of any deficiencies in the application within 90 days after receipt of the application.
Either or both of the time periods specified in this section may be extended by written agreement of the parties.
(10) If an existing mining operation has received zoning approval, the local unit of government shall make a final decision on an application for expansion of the mining operation within 90 days after the receipt of a complete application if all of the following conditions are met:
(a) The relevant property is not located in a residential zoning district.
(b) The application does not propose a new haul route.
(c) Subsection (7) does not apply to the property on which mining will occur.
(11) A zoning approval of an application to extract natural resources by mining under this section is valid for the life of the mine as specified in the zoning approval if the operator of the mine complies with the conditions of approval imposed by the local unit of government and applicable state and federal laws and rules. If the property is located in a single family or multifamily zoning district, the zoning ordinance of the local unit of government may restrict the total duration of mining operations to 15 years. The 15-year period includes the duration of any expansion of mining operations as previously approved and of activities preliminary to extraction, such as construction of facilities. The 15-year period does not include the duration of reclamation after extraction has ceased. After approval of an application, a local unit of government may conduct a periodic compliance review of the mining and related operations. If authorized by ordinance, the compliance review may include, but is not limited to, site inspections, inspection of documents, and requirements for the mining operator to submit information to the local unit of government. A mining operator's response to a compliance review shall not be considered to be an application for a new approval to operate.
(12) A mining operation that requires a zoning approval shall not be located as provided in either of the following:
(a) Within 5 miles from an inland lake that is more than 2,000 acres in size.
(b) Within 660 feet from a river or stream that is a tributary of such an inland lake.
(13) The purpose of the buffer strip setback requirements of subsection (12) is to protect the water quality of this state's most important natural resources, protect and enhance fish and wildlife habitat, and conserve biodiversity.
(14) (7) This act does not limit state regulatory authority under other statutes or rules.