Pittsfield Charter Township v. Washtenaw County

i. nature of the case

This controversy presents a much-litigated but difficult question 1 of statutory interpretation: When is a governmental unit exempt from or subject to local zoning regulations? Here, Washtenaw County says that it has the statutory, plenary power to use its property, located in the county (and in Pittsfield Charter Township within the county), as it determines, immune from township zoning laws. For its part, the township says that it has comprehensive statutory power to regulate land use within its juris diction and, therefore, the county’s use of its property within the…