MARSHALL, Mich. — The city of Marshall is moving forward with reviewing site plans, despite Ford’s announcement earlier this week that it is pausing construction on its planned electric vehicle battery plant.
A public hearing was held Thursday morning.
No decisions were made, but there were some comments, specifically about the site’s storm water management and traffic control.
City officials say those issues will be sorted out before they finalize the plan.
“With a project this size, we are taking it in phases,” Marshall Director of Community Services Eric Zuzga said. “At this point, we don’t have a full site plan approval yet. We were still working on these issues…If there are changes to the site down the road, we’ll continue this process.”
“I’m just hoping that they incorporate more measures to prevent as much emissions and noise and light as, you know, as they really should,” Regis Klingler with the group Committee for Marshall—Not the Megasite added.
Meanwhile, Zuzga also addressed Ford’s construction pause: “Well, I have a site plan that was given to me [and] has not been pulled. So, at this point, we’re completing our review and we’ll issue approval when the time comes.”
Ford says the construction pause will remain in effect until it is sure it can run the plant in a competitive manner.
READ MORE: Ford announces pause on Marshall EV battery plant
The multi-billion-dollar project was first announced back in February.
It was supposed to start producing batteries by 2026, but it’s not clear if this pause will affect that timeline.
