Right to Farm Act and GAAMPs

The Michigan Right to Farm Act (RTFA), Public Act 93 of 1981, MCL 286.471, et seq., was enacted in 1981 to provide farmers with protection from nuisance lawsuits. If a farm or farm operation conforms to generally accepted agricultural and management practices according to the Michigan Commission of Agriculture, the farm or farm operation cannot be declared a private or public nuisance.

The RTFA authorizes the Michigan Commission of Agriculture and the Michigan Department of Agriculture (MDA) to develop and adopt Generally Accepted Agricultural and Management Practices (GAAMPs) for farms and farm operations in Michigan. The GAAMPs are annually reviewed by the MDA.

Beginning June 1, 2000, the RTFA preempts any local ordinance, regulation, or resolution that "purports to extend or revise in any manner the provisions of [the] act or generally accepted agricultural and management practices developed under [the] act. * * * [A] local unit of government shall not enact, maintain, or enforce an ordinance, regulation, or resolution that conflicts in any manner with [the] act or generally accepted agricultural and management practices developed under [the] act." (MCL 286.474(6))

In a significant Michigan Supreme Court opinion, Papadelis v City of Troy ( ___ Mich. ___ , June 29, 2007) the court confirmed MTA’s long-standing position that township zoning ordinances can regulate agricultural operations, as long as the regulations do not conflict with the Right to Farm Act or the GAAMPs. Although the opinion dealt with a city, the court’s ruling was not based on the zoning ordinance being a city ordinance.

In the case, the City of Troy challenged the operations at Telly’s Greenhouse and Garden, arguing that they constituted a commercial activity in violation of the city’s residential zoning ordinance. Both the Oakland County Circuit Court and the Michigan Court of Appeals had agreed that the greenhouse operation must be allowed to operate due to protections under the RTFA and section 2a(f) of the Single State Construction Code Act, PA 230 of 1972, MCL 125.1501, et seq.

However, the Michigan Supreme Court reversed in part the lower court decisions, ruling unanimously that neither statute protected the greenhouse from the local ordinance. The state’s highest court ruled that, as no provisions of the RTFA or any published GAAMP address the permitting, size, height, bulk or floor area, construction and location of buildings used for a greenhouse or related agricultural purposes, no conflict exists between the RTFA and the local ordinance that would preclude enforcing the ordinance under the facts of the case. The court also held that the plaintiff’s greenhouse and pole barn are not exempt from State Construction Code building permit requirements.

A township may submit to the MDA for approval a proposed ordinance prescribing standards different from those contained in GAAMPs if adverse effects on the environment or public health will exist within the township.

The GAAMPs cover several, but not all, aspects of farming operations, including: