WASHTENAW COUNTY, MI — The owners of a historic farm continue to battle in court over a zoning violation and an order to remove their livestock from their property in rural Webster Township, about 10 miles from Ann Arbor.

Inshal Chenet, a Cottonwood Farm resident and member of Morningstar Ventures LLC, which has owned the Farrell Road property since 2019, said the farm animals are still there for now as an appeal is pending in Washtenaw County’s 22nd District Court.

“At the moment we have a dairy cow and several sheep. We have pigs, a few broilers and laying hens,” said Chenet.

The property is inhabited by a group of Catholic families who live together on the historic farm.

Read more: Judge sides with community in case involving livestock on historic farm in Washtenaw County

In 2021, the township received complaints from officials and inspected the property, finding violations related to construction closures, trash and keeping animals on a smaller lot than the township allows, according to a court brief filed Aug. 19 by township attorney Matthew Kuschel.

The municipality claims that some animals “slipped” off the property, including a cow that was standing in the middle of the road.

In August 2022, the municipality’s zoning appeals board upheld the violation after MorningStar attempted to appeal it.

In January of this year, District Court 14A-3 Judge Anna Frushour found that the property owners had violated the town’s code, which requires a minimum area of ​​2 hectares for keeping livestock.

Throughout the trial and on appeal, MorningStar argued that the 12-acre farm should be protected as a commercial farm under the Michigan Right to Farm Act because it sold agricultural products such as eggs, dairy, fruits and vegetables, and livestock shares. They also argued that the township’s ordinance was “vague.”

“I think we’re well protected by the Michigan Right to Farm Act,” Chenet said. “The Zoning Board of Appeals has ruled that we’re not commercial. That seems ridiculous to me.”

Lawyers for the municipality did not respond to requests for comment.

In a court order, the township argues that MorningStar has not provided sufficient evidence of commercial activity and is not protected by the Michigan Right to Farm Act.

The municipality’s zoning code, which city planners are currently working to revise, currently states that residents may keep livestock on non-commercial properties only if their property has a net area of ​​five acres or more.

The Cottonwood farm property has a net area of ​​approximately 4.8 acres, not including the right-of-way area, which brings the gross area of ​​the property to approximately 5.2 acres.

Although MorningStar submitted statements from people who claimed to have purchased agricultural products from them, this was not enough to convince the municipal planning authority or the court.

“MorningStar has demonstrated Cottonwood Farm’s commercial production in multiple documents,” said a July 19 filing by attorney Michelle Halley.

MorningStar argues that the district judge made an “error” in granting the township’s request for a preliminary injunction, denying it the opportunity to present evidence and rejecting evidence of “the commercial nature of the farm.”

The community argues that “opportunity sales” are not protected by the Michigan Right to Farm Act.

“The defendant’s community is not the type of activity that (the Michigan Right to Farm Act) was intended to protect,” the community argues in its Aug. 19 brief.

“In district court, MorningStar presented the same evidence that it presented before the (Board of Zoning Appeals),” the township’s complaint states. “In this appeal, it relies again on the same evidence. As explained above, nothing shows a specific sales volume. Nothing shows the expected – let alone actual – income from its operations. Instead, the defendant admits that its purpose is not profit, but community.”

READ MORE: Enough space for chickens and goats? Municipality considers changing livestock farming regulations

In the meantime, the Webster Township Planning Commission has been working on a draft amendment to the township’s animal husbandry ordinance.

If passed, the amendment would allow certain types and numbers of livestock for non-commercial purposes on smaller lots – from one to 4.99 acres net size – zoned for farming, agribusiness or rural residential. A public hearing is scheduled for 7 p.m. on Sept. 18.

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