DETROIT, Mich. (Michigan News Source) — Detroit’s ambitious solar neighborhoods project is drawing attention as the city files dozens of eminent domain lawsuits to secure land for its first phase. The project, which aims to generate enough solar energy to power Detroit’s 127 municipal buildings, is stirring up debates about eminent domain—a topic particularly sensitive in Michigan, where property rights and redevelopment have collided before. 

The Detroit City Council approved the project in July 2024, and since then, the city has filed at least 89 lawsuits to acquire land. These lawsuits, which chief strategy officer Trisha Stein told to the Detroit Free Press “represent less than 10% of the more than 900 parcels” involved in the first phase, are part of a legal process known as eminent domain.

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Under this process, governments can seize private property for public use, provided they offer fair compensation. While most of the properties are being voluntarily sold, these lawsuits indicate that some owners have resisted selling their land, prompting the city to take legal action.

Michigan’s relationship with eminent domain is complicated. The Poletown controversy, when over 1,000 residents were displaced to make way for a General Motors plant, significantly impacted the community. That experience reshaped the state’s legal approach to eminent domain, culminating in a 2004 Michigan Supreme Court ruling that restricted the use of this power for economic development purposes.

In fact, the legal framework for Detroit’s current solar project is different, as Michigan voters approved restrictions on eminent domain through Proposal 4 in 2006, ensuring that property seizures are more tightly regulated and primarily serve public interests. 

Much of the land targeted for the solar farms is in Detroit’s “most blighted areas,” according to Mayor Mike Duggan. Similarly, eminent domain attorney Alan Ackerman informed the Detroit Free Press that “the lands that are being expropriated here are not in high demand.” 

Ackerman continued: “Vacant lots are difficult. There are residential lots that are really valuable in the city and others just aren’t. Most of the things they condemn are found in the most ruined areas of the city.”

As it stands, the solar project will displace 21 families, with each receiving financial compensation of $90,000.

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“We are not pushing a single owner-occupied homeowner out of these neighborhoods to build the solar fields,” Duggan said, addressing concerns about displacement. 

John Mogk, a law professor at Wayne State University, put it this way: “The whole issue comes down to what your goal is … If you want to assemble the land in a reasonable period of time, you can’t do it by private negotiation, it takes too long. Too many people hold out or won’t sell, and therefore, you can’t complete the assembly of land. The question becomes, do you want to leave the city the way it is or do you want to repurpose and attempt to improve the population and economy of the city?”