Michigan Right to Farm Law, what does it mean?

[Living the Simple Life]

Just wondering if anyone has specifically had contact/dealt with Leoni Township in Michigan regarding the Right to Farm Act. If so, have you been successful? Just wondering if anyone has "paved" the way.

 

[zengrrl]

I have read this entire thread, all 39 pages and am completely confused. Along with the legal jargon there are several stories, some tales of triumph, tons of opinions and no clear cut answers. I'm taking from this that unless chickens are allowed in your part of the world, be prepared for a fight. this can include city hall, ordinance officers, lawyers, you name it. Continuing to spending a good chunk o change on refabbing a large outbuilding on our property to accomodate a few hens is put on hold and its indeed a sad state of affairs. I thought we were far enough out in the country but even in the sticks its a battle. Makes no sense at all. Its not that i just figured no one would notice, I'm surrounded by people with chickens and pheasants and thought it was no issue. 7 birds in and I'm stuck.

According to township law, 1 bird - 1.5 acres and every addl bird is 1/2 acre. Ridiculous.
I sent the question to the MI EXTENSTION office and am awaiting a hard answer.

 

[RaZ]

Good luck getting a hard answer from the Extension office. I do volunteer work for my local office and they are adamant about NOT providing legal advice or product recommendations.

All of the local ordinances and laws are open to legal interpretation. It's a case by case adventure, for sure.

 

[zengrrl]

niiice, hmmm well the hatcheries in my area swear by the right to farm act but dh isn't feeling cool spending more money to finish the coop soooo I'm truly stuck. Thanks for the words.

 

[Denninmi]

I think part of the confusion lies in the issue of a pre-existing operation versus someone new who wants to start up with some chickens. If you are pre-existing and established, they would have a much harder time fighting you. But, if you are someone who wants to just start keeping chickens in the backyard of a residential area or an area not zoned for it, then it gets murky.

Even the courts and the local governments are confused.

 

[zengrrl]

I was thinking that all of the cities that have recently passed chicken ordiances ALLOWING them in very suburban areas with very small backyards are doing that as a way to try to keep some kind of control as the state law truly does trump all. So by passing these local ordinances in favor they can maintain ex. 3 hens, no roos, etc. Its indeed a murky road I've stumbled into.

 

[xej]

Ok I wonder, being in a residential zoned area in Michigan, if I sell eggs to my neighbors out of my garage, will that make me not in compliance with GAAMP for "Farm Markets" and therefore not protected under RTF?

http://www.michigan.gov/documents/mda/2011_DRAFT_FARM_MARKETS_GAAMPs_331759_7.pdf

 

[wheresmypeeps]

Quote:
Hmmm... I'm a bit confused. Well, preeety confused overall, but a bit more now. We have two hens that are laying and ten chicks that are about 4 weeks old now. We have plans of keeping 6-10 hens for laying, but not roosters (...hey, we're not stupid. Rooster calls would definitely annoy the neighbors). So far we're pretty clandestine. Only a few neighbors know. I have 'sold eggs' to several neighbors and a couple of other friends in order to hopefully slip in under the technicality, even at this beginning point, of the 'small farm' exception/qualification to the Right to Farm Act in Michigan, just in case we end up confronted by our township. [Plainfield Township, outskirts of Grand Rapids. Strange revelation to us is that to read the ordinances of Grand Rapids (a 'large' city) and Plainfield Township (part of the outlying/outskirt area of Grand Rapids), Grand Rapids appears to actually have allowances for small numbers of 'backyard chickens' (hens only), and Plainfield Township appears to not allow it at all unless you have ten or more acres. Weirder and weirder...] We don't want to poke the beehive, but we are hoping for some protection with minimal defense of our rights, from the RTF Act, if asked. Thus the 'egg-selling'. Doesn't that qualify for the 'small farm' definition, and it would not have anything to do with a 'Farmer's Market' situation if it is sold from our home would it?
We used to homeschool, and we began when it was scary... kind-of like this law, the wording in Michigan basically gave us rights on religious basis, and the parameters were murky in regards to what would be considered accountability under a 'certified teacher' (whose definition in this regard was also up for debate)... SO we schooled for several years when it was not the 'in' thing to do, and living in some trepidation of the state showing up at the door. Once again, not wanting to 'poke the beehive'. It was an amazing, miraculous transformation to see the homeschooling community grow and win the favor of both the law and public opinion. Felt rather surreal for quite a while, actually. Hopefully this right, in regards to chickens in backyards, will have a similar type of dynamic.

 

[xej]

Yeah see that's the problem is this "Farm Market" addition to the GAAMP is fairly new (2010), and likely untested in court. Does this take away the RTF protection for those of us who don't have access to agricultural zoned land from which to sell our eggs or other farm products? And this "Farm Market" definition seems so broad, it seems like it could cover you walking over to your neighbor's house and exchanging money for an egg. It doesn't have to be an actual stand or building even, just anywhere where you sell your farm products. I can't help but wonder if this is the beginning of the end of small farm protection under the RTF. Oh and have you noticed, at least in my area, more and more land is being rezoned from agricultural to residential only.

 

[wheresmypeeps]

Quote:
Hmmm... not good. I think that my son said they mentioned in one of his high school classes that there is only one farm left in our township. Not sure if that is still so, actually. we are outside of the Grand Rapids city limits, but the area is more and more populated. Our address is normally written as 'Grand Rapids', but we can technically write 'Plainfield Township' for our city/town on letters, etc. (See my comment above about the technicalities of the chicken rules in GR vs. Plainfield Twshp. https://www.backyardchickens.com/forum/viewtopic.php?pid=6658343#p6658343 ). Grrr...