By Alethia Kasben
Gongwer News Service
The Royal Oak city manager who ranked marijuana business applications to determine who would receive a retail license was not a public body under the Open Meetings Act, the Michigan Supreme Court unanimously ruled last Thursday.
Justice Brian Zahra wrote the opinion for Exclusive Capital Partners LLC v. City of Royal Oak (SC Docket No. 168243-4), which was unanimous except for Justice Noah Hood, who did not participate because he was on the Court of Appeals panel that earlier considered the case.
Exclusive Capital Partners and Quality Roots challenged the process by which the city granted marijuana business licenses, alleging it violated the Open Meetings Act.
The city manager convened a workgroup to help rank the 21 applications for two license spots in the city and ultimately chose which businesses would receive the licenses.
Zahra wrote that Royal Oak’s ordinance gave the city manager the power to decide between applicants for the retail licenses. He further wrote that the city manager is not subject to the Open Meetings Act in his role.
The city manager was acting in accordance with ordinance-based authority when ranking marijuana retail license applicants to receive license slots, and the marijuana ordinance does not itself qualify as a delegation of authority subject to the Open Meetings Act, the court ruled.
“The city commission has no role in selecting among applicants other than to approve or disapprove site plans. Thus, the Court of Appeals erred by concluding that the city commission delegated its authority under the marijuana ordinance to the city manager, thereby rendering him a ‘public body,’” Zahra wrote. “Instead, the city manager was ‘acting alone in [his] official work capacity pursuant to an independent grant of authority,’ and, therefore, was not subject to the OMA.”
The decision reversed the Court of Appeals.
Gongwer News Service
The Royal Oak city manager who ranked marijuana business applications to determine who would receive a retail license was not a public body under the Open Meetings Act, the Michigan Supreme Court unanimously ruled last Thursday.
Justice Brian Zahra wrote the opinion for Exclusive Capital Partners LLC v. City of Royal Oak (SC Docket No. 168243-4), which was unanimous except for Justice Noah Hood, who did not participate because he was on the Court of Appeals panel that earlier considered the case.
Exclusive Capital Partners and Quality Roots challenged the process by which the city granted marijuana business licenses, alleging it violated the Open Meetings Act.
The city manager convened a workgroup to help rank the 21 applications for two license spots in the city and ultimately chose which businesses would receive the licenses.
Zahra wrote that Royal Oak’s ordinance gave the city manager the power to decide between applicants for the retail licenses. He further wrote that the city manager is not subject to the Open Meetings Act in his role.
The city manager was acting in accordance with ordinance-based authority when ranking marijuana retail license applicants to receive license slots, and the marijuana ordinance does not itself qualify as a delegation of authority subject to the Open Meetings Act, the court ruled.
“The city commission has no role in selecting among applicants other than to approve or disapprove site plans. Thus, the Court of Appeals erred by concluding that the city commission delegated its authority under the marijuana ordinance to the city manager, thereby rendering him a ‘public body,’” Zahra wrote. “Instead, the city manager was ‘acting alone in [his] official work capacity pursuant to an independent grant of authority,’ and, therefore, was not subject to the OMA.”
The decision reversed the Court of Appeals.
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