The planning and zoning laws in Michigan are in the form of public acts. Sometimes you will also hear them referred to as statutes. To obtain the current versions of the planning and zoning acts as well as other related public acts, we recommend that you visit the Michigan Legislature website (click on the link below). If this will be your first time visiting the Michigan Legislature website, the REFERENCE INFORMATION and the 8 EASY STEPS below will help speed up your search. You may want to print this page before you begin.

Michigan Legislature website


REFERENCE INFORMATION

Acronyms

P.A. = Public Act
MCL = Michigan Compiled Laws

Planning & Zoning Acts

Township Planning Act (P.A. 168 of 1959, as amended)
Municipal Planning Act (P.A. 285 of 1931, as amended)
County Planning Act (P.A. 282 of 1945, as amended)
Michigan Zoning Enabling Act (P.A. 110 of 2006, as amended)
Michigan Planning Enabling Act (P.A. 33 of 2008) - Effective September 1, 2008

Other Related Acts

Joint Municipal Planning Act (P.A. 226 of 2003, as amended)
Land Division Act (P.A. 288 of 1967, as amended) - formerly called Subdivision Control Act
Open Meetings Act (P.A. 267 of 1976, as amended)
Freedom of Information Act (P.A. 442 of 1976, as amended)


8 EASY STEPS

• Click on the link above to access the Michigan Legislature website.
• Under the heading "Laws" in the far left column on your screen, click on "Public Act MCL Search".
• Enter the Public Act number and year (see above).
• Click Search.
• The search results will be displayed as a list. The first item on the list is the complete public act. Below this is each individual section of the act displayed as a separate document. Click on the first item under the heading "Document".
• Click on the "printable" icon at the top of the page.
• On the next page, click on the "PDF" icon.
• The document will be displayed on your screen.

Each section of the public act is designated by a section number (i.e., 1 - 40) and an MCL number (i.e., 125.271 - 125.310). These are simply two different ways of numerically identifying each section.

You will notice that at the end of almost every section, there is a line of text that starts with "History". This line will tell you how that specific section originated, either 1) as part of the original version of the public act when it was first enacted, or 2) as a subsequent amendment (or part of an amendment) to the original act. Occasionally, you will also see a "Compiler's Note", which provides additional information, such as a particular section has been repealed.