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Monitoring Property and the Built Environment

DeRuiter v. Township of Byron

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Overview

DeRuiter v. Township of Byron (Supreme Court of Michigan, April 27, 2020): Michigan’s highest court held that the state medical marijuana law did not preempt a local zoning ordinance that restricted where marijuana could be cultivated. State law requires that caregivers and patients authorized to cultivate marijuana must do so in a locked, enclosed building but otherwise does not designate locations where cultivation is permissible or prohibited. The Township’s zoning ordinance requires that caregivers or patients obtain a permit and pay a fee to grow marijuana and limits cultivation to within a dwelling or garage in a residentially zoned area within the Township. An authorized caregiver leased a locked, enclosed building on commercial property to grow marijuana without a permit and challenged the local restrictions as preempted by state law. The court found that the local law did not directly conflict with state law. Read the decision here.


View all cases in the Judicial Trends in Public Health – June 15, 2020.

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