Well, hearing #5 tonight w/ the township of Forsyth. The MRTFA has been brought up and responded to by the township atty. He basically agrees w/ the board member, who is also an attorney, that the MRTFA does preempt local ordinances as long as it is commercial in nature and follows the necessary GAAMPS. But, he also brought up Section 3, subsection 2 of the RTFA which reads as follows:
"A farm or farm operation shall not be found to be a public or private nuisance if the farm or farm operation existed before a change in the land use or occupancy of the land within one mile of the boundaries of the farmland, and if before that change in land use or occupancy of land, the farm or farm operation would not have been a nuisance." MCL 287.473 (3)(2)
From what I have found, specifically referencing the Papadelis v. City of Troy (2006, unpublished), the court wrote:
"The legislature did not require both subsections to be met in order for a farm or farming operation to qualify for protection under the RTFA...A farm or farm operation that conforms to generally accepted agricultural and management practices is entitled to the protection provided by the RTFA without regard to the historic use of the property in question."
Where this would be different is if a person wanted to start a Livestock Production Facility, then site selection would be an issue as well. I am really not concerned and I will let you all know the outcome of tonights meeting. I am guessing they won't want to incur the legal expense of taking this to court especially with the precedent already set in the court of law in Michigan and the possiblity of having to pay for both sides expenses and legal fees!
They are also wanting me to contact the MDA to have a site inspection done. I am not going to offer to do this. If they want an inspection of our clean and well maintained farm, they can contact them. They are the ones that have a problem with what we are doing, not us. I will also be requesting a refund of our $250 application fee for a special exception as it directly conflicts w/ the RTFA. Should be an interesting evening.