Dearden v. City of Detroit

This case requires us to determine whether the Michigan Department of Corrections is subject to the regulation of a municipal zoning ordinance when the department is leasing an existing facility for use as a neighborhood pre-release center. We hold it is not subject to the zoning ordinance.

I

Plaintiff archdiocese has owned the property in Detroit that is the subject of this litigation for some time. In 1938, the archdiocese constructed a three-story, multi-residential structure on that property for use as a convent. When the city adopted a zoning ordinance in 1940, the property was zoned R2…