EXAMPLE OF SUCCESSFUL FARM MARKET GAAMP SITE PLAN APPROVAL

MDARD approved a client’s site plan in accord with the new Farm Market GAAMP.

I was retained by a client who purchased property to operate a farm market selling landscaping plants. The farmer grows material on the newly-purchased property and elsewhere for sale. However, the Township demanded that my client comply with extensive site plan requirements. My client estimated that the engineering alone, much less implementation of all the items requested by the township, could exceed the price paid for the property.  

Fortunately, the newly revised Farm Market GAAMP protected them. This post described the revised GAAMP, including the elimination of references to compliance with local zoning ordinances and creation of a process whereby the Michigan Department of Agriculture could review a site plan. 

I just assisted my client by following the processes under the revised GAAMP. The GAAMP does not require site plan pre-approval from MDARD. “A farm market should have a written site plan for potential MDARD review that preempts local government regulations.” However, to prevent any problems with the Township, we actively sought MDARD review of the site plan. My client supplied a hand-drawn site plan that identified the approximate location of the proposed farm building (demonstrating that it met township setback requirements) and identifying the areas where farm products would be grown and sold. MDARD sent an inspector to review the premises. He provided correspondence confirming both that the site plan was approved and that the prerequisite of selling at least 50% self-grown farm products was met. As part of that process, MDARD copied the Township.

This situation represents exactly why the Farm Market GAAMP was implemented. For example, the Township was demanding an engineered drawing for the road access and parking lot. This demand was made despite the fact that the Michigan Department of Transportation approved an access permit based upon a hand-drawn document. The Township was also demanding that the parking lot be paved despite the GAAMP (both old and new) explicitly allowing unpaved parking. While these type of requirements may be appropriate for a normal retail store, it would have been impossible to implement by a farmer growing plants for purchase by the public to plant at their homes. The Township’s requirements were absolutely cost prohibitive and would have prevented the farm market from existing. The statutes creating the GAAMP process exist to encourage and protect agriculture. In this case, that purpose was fulfilled.

If you have any questions about the GAAMPs or other issues involving agricultural property, including condemnation, zoning, or nuisance issues, please feel free to contact me.