Some political movements have nice-sounding names, but goals that are a lot less appealing when you dig beneath the surface.

That’s the case with Citizens for Local Choice, a group currently gathering signatures to overturn a new state law that lets state regulators overrule local governments on the siting of large-scale wind and solar projects. They want to put a referendum to overturn the law on the November ballot.

Local choice sounds great, right? But in reality, this petition drive is about two things. First, it’s about making it harder for property owners to use their land as they see fit. Second, it’s about erecting roadblocks to generating renewable energy in Michigan.

Over the past few years, Michigan has been ground zero in the fight over utility-scale solar farms, with more than two dozen local governments delaying or blocking utility-scale developments. These township boards didn’t necessarily come out and say “no solar” outright — they just piled on enough restrictions, from absurdly large setback requirements to limits on how much ground can be covered, that the developments became unfeasible.

The most fundamental building block of local control is the idea that people can do as they please with their land, as long as it doesn’t harm their neighbors. And it doesn’t take much regulation to make sure neighbors’ rights are protected. There’s nothing wrong with making developers plant trees around their installations, for instance. Another common-sense measure is requiring decommissioning bonds, which are a financial instrument used to ensure that, once a solar installation reaches the end of its life, the land can be restored to its original condition. (Can you imagine if a rule like that had existed for the abandoned factories that dot our landscape today? We should be so lucky!)

In rural areas like Lenawee County, people have always made money by selling the products that come from their land. In the past, that almost always meant food. Today, it can also mean energy. Lenawee County’s land is highly desirable for solar and wind projects, and plenty of farmers are interested in pursuing that option. Unfortunately, some heavyhanded local governments have made it next to impossible.

Sometimes it’s appropriate for the state to step in. When local governments run roughshod over their own citizens, that’s one of those times.

So when you hear about Citizens for Local Choice, our advice is — don’t buy the spin. In this case, “local choice” just means letting township governments dictate to farmers and stand in the way of progress.