Ronald a Jostock v. Mayfield Township

Summary

The Court held that conditional rezoning is invalid under the Michigan Zoning Enabling Act when the proposed use is not permitted, either by right or after special approval, in the proposed zoning district. The Court rejected an interpretation that would allow municipalities to authorize otherwise prohibited uses through conditional rezoning because that interpretation would disregard the statutory reference to rezoning, conflict with the township’s Euclidean zoning scheme, and circumvent the use-variance process. Because the parties had not specifically litigated whether a dragway was permitted in the C-2 district, the Court vacated the lower-court judgments and remanded for further proceedings.