This entire thread is about Michigan's Right to Farm Act, which in 1999 was amended to prohibit the use of zoning to interfere with those farmers who are commercial (for example, by selling some eggs), and which follow applicable GAAMPs.
Since then there have been 4 court cases involving farms in residentially zoned areas that have made it to the Appeals Court level, and in three of those cases the three-judge court panels ruled that the residentially-zoned farms WERE protected by the Right to Farm Act. The fourth case was a split decision, with Bill Schuette, who was then an Appeals Court Judge, writing a dissent arguing that the farm was protected. Schuette is now our Attorney General. More information on these court cases and others can be found here: http://sustainablefarmpolicy.org/the-courts/
There is a lot more to this story, but the point that I want to make is that in Michigan no one should think that their local units of government are the only (or the best) place to look for information on whether their farming activities are protected. The Michigan Right to Farm Act was amended in 1999 in a way that protects every farmer in the state regardless of size or place. Even small, residentially zoned operations have been ruled by our courts to be protected by Right to Farm - regardless of local zoning that prohibits those farm activities.
Since then there have been 4 court cases involving farms in residentially zoned areas that have made it to the Appeals Court level, and in three of those cases the three-judge court panels ruled that the residentially-zoned farms WERE protected by the Right to Farm Act. The fourth case was a split decision, with Bill Schuette, who was then an Appeals Court Judge, writing a dissent arguing that the farm was protected. Schuette is now our Attorney General. More information on these court cases and others can be found here: http://sustainablefarmpolicy.org/the-courts/
There is a lot more to this story, but the point that I want to make is that in Michigan no one should think that their local units of government are the only (or the best) place to look for information on whether their farming activities are protected. The Michigan Right to Farm Act was amended in 1999 in a way that protects every farmer in the state regardless of size or place. Even small, residentially zoned operations have been ruled by our courts to be protected by Right to Farm - regardless of local zoning that prohibits those farm activities.