Michigan Right to Farm Law, what does it mean?

[Sonoran Silkies]

Quote:
With a building, you would still need to follow the adopted building code (building codes cov er safety issues; there are several common ones). Not sure how zoning code is affected by the RTFA, other than it would seem that they cannot tell you that you cannot build a greenhouse for commercial farming, but not sure how setbacks and building height, etc would be interpreted.--whether they must be followed or can be ignored. This thread has mostly covered the right to keep poultry; there are probably provisions specifically dealing with plant crops and agricultural buildings.

 

[Gardeninggranny]

Hi -I know this is a reply long after the original post but maybe readers of BYC would be interested in an article I just published on just this topic- how the Mi. Right to Farm Act might help you keep chickens. Unfortunately many people misunderstand the Right to Farm Act, was was meant to keep farmers from being sued by neighbors for normal farming practices. It does not mean that anyone anywhere in Mi. can keep chickens if they sell eggs- which I keep reading and hearing people say. In some cases the MI. right to farm law can be useful however, as there are still many areas with silly and unrealistic zoning laws. Heres the link to the article [http://tiny.cc/c-law ] Keeping chickens- can the Michigan Right to Farm act help you?[

 

[mike67909]

Quote:
Laws are open to interpretation. It just depends on how you build your case.

 

[dmckie05]

Hi Everyone! I need a little help. We just moved to Rollin township, about a half mile outside the village of Addison. We are zoned Agricultural, but when we asked about having chickens we were told we couldn't have any unless we have 5 acres, which we only have 2.98. So after reading through this post i thought i would do some digging to see what the ordinance said. This is what i found, but i'm still confused.

SECTION 8.01 PERMITTED PRINCIPAL USES
The following uses are permitted in agricultural districts. Any use not expressly permitted is prohibited:
1. General and specialized farming and agricultural activities except feedlots and commercial raising of poultry, rabbits and fur-bearing animals, but including the raising or growing and storage or preservation of crops, sod, livestock and other farm animals and plants, trees, shrubs and nursery stock.
2. The sale of agricultural products raised or grown on the farm premises including roadside stand for said sales.


SECTION 4.13 ANIMALS
No livestock shall be kept or maintained in any zoning district on parcels of land located within a proprietary or assessor's plat or on parcels of less than five (5) acres in area, except that for each dwelling unit the occupant may keep for his personal use domestic pets provided they are not kept or used for commercial or breeding purposes and do not constitute a kennel. No livestock shall be kept or maintained in the suburban estate district except property of five (5) acres or more may have up to two (2) horses only, unless a permit is obtained from the township for 4-H or FFA projects.

In one section i take it that we can have them but in the other it says we can't. Which do i go by?

Please help! My husband is ready to find my chickens a new home, before we are fined for having them.

 

[iluvcks]

Hello everyone,
I only read the last couple pages but I am pretty sure I am in the right place. It was suggested that I let people know what I have been going thru.

This is a lot of info, but worth the time so please read.

May 2009 we bought our home in Bangor Twp Bay County Mi. We own 2/3 of an acre on a corner lot.

June 1st 2009 we got our first chicks. 8 precious babies. 6 weeks later they made their debut. The chicken coop sits behind and to the side of our home. It is 12 feet from the property line. Our neighbors love them.

December we took in two 8 month old hens

Fast forward

March 10th 2010 we got 9 chicks and 2 ducklings and 6 adult cochins and 8 very young silkies

May 3rd we started adding on to the coop

May 5th the zoning enforcer came out to tell us that we had to get rid of the chickens. They run on a complaint basis and had many complaints. I said about what. He said the roosters. Among other things. The silkies that we had gotten had all but one turned out to be boys. The only hen drowned in the duck pool. He said a letter would be coming within the week giveing us 30 days to get rid of everything. He also said there is a Freedom of Information Act and that I could have a copy of all the complaints. He left, my husband tore down what he had started on the addition and I cried in the chicken run for about an hour. Then I got mad. Really mad.

May 6th I filled out the paper to get all the complaints. They told me they have 5 days to produce them.

May 7th I found a wonderful home for the ducks and the silkies.

May 13th DH went to the Township hall to get the copy of the complaints. The zoning enforcerwouldnt make eye contact. After 15 min of walking around the building and whispering with the secertary he came back to tell DH there were no complaints. There was some inquiries as to why we could have chickens when they were told they couldnt. Someone called about the roosters once but he didn't write it down.

We immeditaly started researching ordinaces, RTFA, political standings, like I have chickens because we refuse to contribute to factory farming, Then we started going door to door. I figured beat them at their own game. I would get enough signatures on a petition to change the Township ordinaces about poultry. I got 300 in 3 days. Then an aquaintence insisted that the RTFA would protect us. In my research I could'nt find it. So...

May 19th I called Michigan Department of Agriculture. I explained my deliema and within minutes I was talking with a woderful gentleman. This is what I learned. RTFA does NOT protect you. UNLESS you are following GAAMP. GAAMP is Generally Accepted Agriculture Mangement Practices. There are important peices of the GAAMP that you need. Print off in its entirety (58pgs) the GAAMP for manure mangement, laying chickens, and the dead bodies act. If your are going to sell eggs and want to put a sign out front, print off the farm market GAAMP too. Also the entire RTFA. Keep these things in a binder. Your chicken binder. Next read it all... then write a Poultry Operations Guide. Mine is 12 pages long. If anyone would like me to Email it to you I'd be happy to. The Table of Contents for the POG is as follows:
I. Caring for chicks-birth to 16 weeks
Equipment
Care
II. Caring for Older Pullets and Hens
Equipment
Housing
Space
Maintenence
Nutrition
Health and Medical Procedures
Map of the Coop and Run

OK now make sure you have done your homework and everything is according to GAAMP. For instance you need a compost bin and that bin must have a cover. Etc. Once it is written Email a copy to the nice folks that you have been talking to at MDA. Put another copy in the front of your chicken binder. Now schedule an appointment for MDA to come out and inspect your "operation"

May 22nd we started the addition to the coop.

May 29th we recieved our letter from the Township. It states that you cannot keep livestock including poulty on less than 40 acres. Page wire is strictly prohibbited and that you cannot house any animal within 100 feet of any property live. They also talked about the setback line, saying that the coop which is an assorsery building cannot be in the front yard.

June 1st I spoke with MDA again and set up the appointment for the ispection.

June 7th MDA was here. We spoke, he took notes, and lots of pictures. He said that everthing is beautiful. There was not one thing he could tell us to make an improvement on. Which means we are operating within GAAMP, which means that we are a farm. Which means we are protected under MRTFA. Without the inspection and the stamp on the letter from MDA RTFA means nothing to you. Please understand that. We are now awaiting the letter form MDA. Once we get that we will pay a visit to the Township and nicely explain to them that we are following GAAMP and that we are protected under the RTFA. If they would like to push things further and take us to court that will be fine. Please uderstand that there will be two courts. A judical court in front of a jury of our peers and the court of public opinion. The taxpayers will not like to hear that they are taking me to court over something that I have a State legal right to do.

Ok now some clarifacation. Housing Associations are their own enity. You signed a contract with those people and RTFA can not protect you. If your area forbids ALL agriculture than RTFA can not help you. But if they for instance say you can keep a pot bellied pig but not a chicken. NOPE doors open. Agriculture is Agriculture. Greehouses, pigs, goats, chickens does'nt matter. As long as you can do it and follow GAAMP your covered. Make sure you read GAAMP. For instance your operation has to be so far away from ditches and water sources. What I was told is the Manure Management is the most important. But they all have to be followed.

Just some added information. I keep a log of egg production, sales, expenses, births, deaths, and important dates. I have all my girls tagged with an ankle band. Yellow is 1 yr old and pink is this years. Each number coraspondes with a name, this info is kept on a sheet in the coop and in my binder. Its good to have this info because for instance you have a chicken with an impacted crop. It happens again, is it the same chicken? or different? If its the same it may be an ongoing problem. Etc. Tagging animals is what is done with breeders and farmers alike. My MDA guy liked it very much. The rest of the info I mentioned is helpful to prove in court that you are a business. Oh and I asked, you do not need a tax ID licence for a small operation. I have 24 hens. And are still covered by RTFA for selling eggs. My township tried to tell me I could have a roadside vege stand to sell what we produce here but that I could NOT sell eggs. Again Agriculture is Agriculture. They cannot pick and chose what Agriculture they want to allow.

This is the front of the coop

Your can see the corner

If you have any questions please PM me

 

[chikkaboomboom]

Wow valuable information THANK YOU!
I am zoned agriculture but the houses on the left of me are zoned residential .. weird .

 

[Sonoran Silkies]

What about normal setbacks for accessory buildings from the property line and locating accessory buildings in the front yard? Note, I specifically mean things that city code or zoning has set up for ALL accessory buildings in a zone, not ones specifically related to agriculture. For instance, in my zone our rear yard setback is 35' from the rear property line unless the building is less than 200 sq ft and less than 8' tall, in which case it can be located at the property line. Accessory buildings are not allowed in the front yard. Now I am not in Michighan, but let's play devil's advocate and say that someone there had exactly the same code restrictions. Assuming they follow GAAMP and all the specifics so that they should be covered, would they not still have to comply with these types of zoning regulations that are not aimed at preventing or controling farming, but rather are aimed at providing separation between neighboring properties?

 

[iluvcks]

I suppose in theory you are right, maybe. All I know is what MDA told me. That is GAAMP has no rules about setback on property. As far as they are concerned you can keep goats in the front yard as long as you are following GAAMP. With that said I do understand for appereance sake why they would want the coop in the back yard. Not everyone has as cute of a coop as we do. LOL We have no problem putting up a picket fence all the way around our property. They allow it and it would hide the page wire fence and the chickens, sort of. But what I am saying is I am following GAAMP which means in the states eyes I am perfectly legal. The law is interpertive. We very well could have a judge tell us we have to move the coop behind the house, but I see no judge ruling in favor of the Township over the State. I could not fathom having to give up our chickens with the State on our side. I'll keep posting here so you all know how this turns out.

 

[Sonoran Silkies]

I think you are very lucky to have a state that protects your rights as it does.

 

[dsp]

Thank you so much for your very informative post.... your inbox is full...we are going thru a similar situation. We just have 5 hens... and our city is telling us that we must get rid of the them.

We got a notice on the door. We called and were told- "Chickens are not allowed" The very next morning I took a copy of the law to the Ordinance Dept. They had never heard of it and I was told to take a copy to the law dept so in there very words " they could find a loophole" ?! I did, as I know the law and was confident in what it said. The city attorney immediatly began calling us and emailing is with "reasons" the law did not apply to us... we were able to shoot them down each time using the law and not opinions as they were using. After a day or two the attorney emailed us saying " you are understanding the law correctly, even following GAAMPS correctly-- but the law is not intended for you" and then we got a misdemeanor ticket 500 and or 90 days in jail if we fail to comply. So...
The very next morning I took the law and supporting documents to the Mayors office. I typed up a nice letter explaining my situation. I nicely told the mayor that I fully believed I was covered by the law and that if forced I would get rid of my coop and chickens but would turn around and sue the city for infringement on my rights. The Mayor wa son vacation they said for the Memorial day weekend....
Around 6 pm that night the Mayor called me. I live in a pretty big city.... one of the largest in the state... and they mayor called me. He wanted to "talk" about this. He told me "dont sell your chickens.... lets sit down and discuss this" I agreeed.
The next day I ( a stay at home mom LOL) met with the Mayor, 2 city attorneys, the Building Inspector, and the mayors assistant. We talked. I asked if they could show me where in the law does it state I am not covered?? They couldnt show me anything. They sat there with there mouths open. The building inspector just said " to me you rnot a farm." I showed him the definition of a "farm" in the law. The meeting ended with the mayor again putting the violation on hold.... telling me "dont sell your chickens.." and they asked if I had an attorney. I said I did but had not retained him but was prepared to. They said they wanted to meet and discuss this with my attorney... ok. They insisted it would have to be soon as they cannot drag this out.....
Yet as of today my attorney has not heard back. He called them last week and they have not returned any of his calls.

Its sad we have to fight here in MI when we have a law that so clearly supports us.