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Fahey Schultz Burzych Rhodes PLC Member Stacy Hissong will join Steve Roznowski, P.E., President and CEO of Spicer Group, at the Lansing Reg...
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A property owner is building a greenhouse on their farm and claims Michigan’s Right to Farm Act protects them from our zoning ordinance. Does the RTFA override our setback and accessory structure placement requirements?
Not necessarily. The Right to Farm Act protects qualifying farm operations from nuisance lawsuits, but it does not exempt property owners from zoning ordinances that govern the location of farming structures or operations.
In Lamb v. Crofoot, No. 25-1313, 2025 U.S. App. LEXIS 30453 (6th Cir., Nov. 19, 2025), a property owner began constructing a greenhouse in his front yard. When the Township issued a stop work order because the zoning ordinance prohibited accessory buildings in front yards, the property owner argued the RTFA preempted the local restriction. The Sixth Circuit disagreed, holding that the RTFA “does not exempt a citizen from those zoning ordinances governing the location of a farming operation.”
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