Farm sues Comstock Township over citations
COMSTOCK TOWNSHIP, Mich. (WOOD) — A farm is suing the Comstock Township and its officials in federal court for what it says are constitutional and civil rights violations.
The lawsuit, filed in federal court Friday by Soil Friends LLC and its owners, stems from disagreements last year between the farm and the township.
Comstock Township issued several citations to the farm, saying its operations were not up to code, including operating a cider tasting room and a market that sold items not grown on the farm. The Kalamazoo County District Court issued a compliance order to shut the business down last December.
But Soil Friends said its actions were within the law, citing a tasting room permit approved in 2018.
Comstock Twp. action against farm result of ‘customer complaints’
“We have what we are as a farm and what we want to become. Through that process as we kicked this off, we got accused of being what we were trying to become before we even had the chance to get there,” Soil Friends co-owner Benjamin Martin said. “Although there were things that I didn’t agree with doing, I thought, ‘Well, instead of fighting, let’s just try and see if we can work this out.’ But the goal post keeps moving. It doesn’t stop moving. So, at some point, something’s got to give.”
In a Dec. 2022 statement, the township said to qualify as a farm market, according to the state of Michigan, at least 50% of the items offered for sale on the farm must be grown on the farm.
“Presently, the sale of pumpkins and other items grown on the farm are clearly less than 50% of the overall retail sales. There are no fruit trees on the farm, so the ingredients for the wine/beer are imported, as are the Christmas Trees, wreaths and many of the other items offered for sale on the property,” the statement read.
The farm says since Christmas trees are a farm product, their sale is protected under the Right to Farm Act.
“My township officials are literally concerned about selling cut Christmas trees and Santa visiting the farm [.] This has got to be a joke,” Martin wrote on Facebook as a response to a Comstock Township letter that also said a cidery was not at the time listed as an allowed use in the zoning district.
“The activities occurring on the property beyond the growing of crops and the farm market, as defined by (Generally Accepted Agricultural and Management Practices) are collectively considered agricultural-tourism/agri-tourism/agri-tainment,” the Comstock letter said. “These uses include cut Christmas tree sales, 5k runs, visits and photos with Santa, hayrides, etc. The zoning ordinance does not provide for this type of use in the AGR, Agriculture-Residential District.”
Comstock Twp. moves to shut down family farm
Martin’s Facebook complaint wasn’t the only online pushback the township received from the farm. An October post by Soil Friends called the township’s move a “power grab” by “horrendous leadership … from our elected officials,” and vowed to “(Work) with other like minded community members to make this a better township to live, enjoy and do business in.”
The lawsuit alleges that when Township Supervisor Randy Thompson met with farm owners just 11 days after that post, he “insinuated that Plaintiffs Facebook posts criticizing Comstock Township must cease because it placed Comstock Township in a negative light and would cause further issues with Plaintiffs seeking special exception use from Comstock Township for Plaintiffs’ operations.”
“The more I would speak up on things, the more things would tighten up,” Martin added. “So, every time we would take one step forward and move forward, all of a sudden, something new comes up.”
Soil Friends is suing the township for First Amendment retaliation, unconstitutional conditions, violation of due process, regulatory takings, conspiracy to interfere with civil rights, state law preemption by Michigan Liquor Control Code, state law preemption by Michigan Right to Farm Act, interference with a business relationship, defamation under state law, violation of Michigan’s Open Meetings Act, intentional infliction of emotional distress under state law and civil conspiracy.
“You can’t violate property rights like this – property rights, rights of a business, no due process throughout this whole time,” Martin said. “You just can’t do that to people.”
The farm is asking for compensation for damages including lost profits and attorney fees.
— News 8’s David Horak contributed to this report.
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