MARSHALL, MI (WTVB) – The Marshall City Council is set to hold a special meeting Thursday night to discuss a petition calling for a city-wide vote on a rezoning request tied to the new electric vehicle battery plant.
According to the Battle Creek Enquirer, a group of Marshall area residents turned in a petition with more than 800 signatures, hoping to prompt a vote to reconsider zoning approval for the three-and-a-half billion dollar venture.
The venture, Ford Motor Company officials say will create 2,500 jobs for the area when production of lithium iron phosphate batteries begins at the future plant in 2026.
The Marshall City Council unanimously approved a request to rezone 741 acres of the Marshall Megasite to Industrial and Manufacturing Zoning on May 1, just hours after hearing from those that were for, or against the BlueOval Battery Park Michigan which would be located on 950 acres of the roughly 2,000-acre Megasite.
A number of Marshall area residents calling themselves “The Committee for Marshall – Not the Megasite” gathered roughly 810 signatures, surpassing the required number 580, equating to 10 percent of registered voters in the city. The meeting to discuss the petition is set to take place inside the Marshall Regional Law Enforcement Center at 7 p.m..
(Jerry Malec contributed to this report)
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