Michigan State faces lawsuit over megasite public records request
LANSING – The Mackinac Center for Public Policy is suing Michigan State University over information withheld about a large parcel of land in Eagle Township the school plans to sell.
On Monday, the conservative think tank filed a lawsuit in the Michigan Court of Claims, alleging the university improperly used the privacy exemption in the state’s open records law to redact portions of agreements between the university and the landowner who donated the property.
The 1,200-acre site, formally called the Michigan Manufacturing Innovation Campus and informally known as the Eagle Township megasite, is among the largest publicly available commercial/industrial plots in the state.
David Morris, a university alumnus and farmer, donated the land to MSU. He died in 2009.
In February, the Mackinac Center sent a public records request to the university for any contracts or agreements with Morris to donate the land and any contracts over a sale of the land. The university responded later that month, but redacted large portions of a 2005 amendment to Morris’ trust, which held
the land.
“The people of Michigan need to have access to accurate information in order to fully debate important issues, such as the Eagle Township megasite,” Steve Delie, Mackinac Center’s director of transparency and open government said in a statement. “Unfortunately, that’s not possible given the redactions applied to the records we received.”
Dan Olsen, a university spokesman, declined to comment, saying as of Tuesday morning that MSU had not been served with or reviewed the lawsuit.
Last year, the State Journal reported that the site was being marketed to companies that would meet MSU’s standards, including research and development opportunities, and that would be able to fill much of the site over time. Officials targeted chip manufacturers for the automotive industry, a EV battery site, an electric vehicle plant or some other competitive modern industry that propels the state forward, said Bob Trezise, president and CEO of the Lansing Area Economic Partnership, which was marketing the land. The potential use of the farmland for a manufacturing site has led to months of protests from residents. The property has been leased to a local farmer for years.
In May, the university sent a letter to Eagle Township officials reiterating its plans to sell the property.
Information about firms the state and local officials have or may be talking with is protected with non-disclosure agreements state officials required local officials to sign. Those nondisclosure agreements, and general concerns over the development of agricultural land in the quiet, rural township have led to recall efforts against township board members.