Opinion
362897
09-09-2022
Charter Township of Lansing v. Ingham County Clerk
LC No. 22-000560-CZ
Michael F. Gadola Presiding Judge, Amy Ronayne Krause, Brock A. Swartzle Judges
ORDER
The motion for immediate consideration is GRANTED. The application for leave to appeal is DENIED for lack of merit in the grounds presented. Presiding Judge
Ronayne Krause, J., states: I agree with the result reached by the majority. However, because the trial court's order failed to "set forth the reasons for its issuance," as required by MCR 3.310(C)(1), I would explain the reasoning for this Court's decision. The trial court correctly determined that the procedures for annexation under MCR 42.34(3) are only available where a city entirely surrounds the charter township, which is not the situation in this matter. Therefore, the City was instead required to follow the procedures under MCR 42.34(5), which require a petition signed by 20% of the registered electors in the portion of the charter township to be annexed. Because there is no record evidence that the City obtained requests for annexation from 20% of the registered electors in the portions of the Township to be annexed, it is not possible to conclude at this time that the City's error was a mere technicality. Although the trial court's order violated MCR 3.310(C)(1), it is clear that all parties were aware of the trial court's reasoning and basis for issuing the order, so that error is not grounds for relief pursuant to MCR 2.613(A).