A group opposed to a Ford Motor Co. electric vehicle battery plant in Marshall, Mich., is suing the city in hopes of stopping construction of the $3.5 billion project, according to court documents.
The plant — dubbed BlueOval Battery Park Michigan — is set to open in 2026. It is expected to create about 2,500 jobs and have the capacity to build 35 gigawatt-hours of lithium iron phosphate cells a year. That’s enough power for about 400,000 EVs.
As reported Wednesday by MLive, the Committee to Save Marshall filed a petition in May for a referendum vote on a rezoning decision that approved 741 acres of the Ford site for industrial use. The petition was rejected by the city because it lacked sufficient valid signatures and because the city had already appropriated money to the project.
In a lawsuit against the city and the city clerk filed with the Calhoun County Circuit Court on Tuesday, the Committee argues the city’s rejection of the petition was unconstitutional.
The city disagrees.
“We will vigorously defend the City’s position in court. We are confident the facts will show that the individuals behind the effort ignored the City Charter and failed to properly gather a sufficient number of valid signatures to attempt to overturn the unanimous City Council decision to rezone the property,” City Manager Derek Perry said in a statement.
“We know there is broad community support for this project, and we remain excited about the potential of the BlueOval Battery Park to create thousands of local jobs including jobs for young people, so they aren’t forced to leave our area to find opportunities.”
The development won about $1 billion in cash and tax breaks from Michigan’s economic development arm — incentives Ford said made Michigan more desirable than alternative locations.
The project has previously faced backlash because of Ford’s partnership with CATL, a supplier in China that will supply technology to be used at the plant.