The state Court of Appeals has upheld a court decision over a zoning violation in Centerville Township.
The court, in an unpublished opinion issued last week, outlined the details of a court file dating back to October 2017.
It was then that Brian Rogers, Cheryl Rogers and, Mushrooms of Leelanau LCC, received a land use permit for the envisioned construction on the property, on the west side of Lakeshore Drive, north of Hohnke Road.
In April 2019, Centerville Township determined that the property violated multiple sections of the zoning ordinance by having:
• An incomplete fence with gaps and height violations
• An unlicensed delivery truck store on the property
• Construction material located along the road
• An unfinished exterior of the connected storage trailers
• Non-compliance with the Building Safety Department standards for storage trailers
• Inadequate proof that Rogers was operating a commercial mushroom production.
Rogers was then given until June 1, 2019 to bring the property into compliance. The deadline was then extended to August 2019, then to November 2019.
In November, the violations persisted, and the township imposed a civil-infraction ticket of $100 per month pending resolution of the violations.
Rogers paid these tickets for eight months, but made no further payments after June 2020.
Centerville Township filed suit in February 2022, asserting that the permit violations on the property constituted a “nuisance per se,” and requested an injunction ordering the defendants to stop violating the zoning ordinance and abate the alleged nuisance. The defendants hired legal counsel the following month.
As part of the legal process, the township hired Lapham Associates, an engineering, planning and environmental surveying company which inspected the condition on the subject property in July 2022 and found many violations. The report detailed that the “foundations; foundation design and attachment; materials; stairways; aisleways; treated lumber and grading” were all substandard by Michigan Building Code standards, and concluded that the conditions “may be deficient in ways that could lead to failure of the building either in the short term or long term,” possibly leading to “catastrophic failure and … injury or loss of life, or significant property damage.”
In the trial court, the Rogers decided they no longer wanted an attorney to represent them and the attorney was allowed to withdraw as counsel. Rogers stated that he preferred to directly deal with (the township.) The trial court ordered a mediation session between the parties for Nov. 1, 2022, but was canceled because Rogers failed to pay the deposit to the mediator, court records state.
The following month, Centerville Township asked for a “summary judgment,” which is a court decision in a lawsuit where a judge rules in favor of one party without a full trial.
A hearing on the motion was scheduled for Jan. 23, 2023 but never came to be. Rogers emailed three days before informing them that he had been attempting to obtain legal representation but had not yet succeeded.
The court granted the township’s motion for summary disposition and gave Rogers six months to remedy the property.
That day, defense counsel moved for relief of judgment, requesting a temporary restraining order, and an injunction preventing the township from removing or interfering with the operation.
This request was denied and then appealed by the defendant.
With affirmation from the court, the township now has the authority to hire someone to clean up the mess and charge expenses to Rogers and/or put a lien on the property.
