Two brief sentences and the key word “denied” have ended a 13-year battle over a Berrien County Sheriff’s gun range in Coloma Township today. The Michigan Supreme Court this morning has ruled in favor of several Coloma area business owners by denying Berrien County’s latest appeal in a see-saw battle that dates all the way back to 2005.
Attorney Scott Dienes, who represented Coloma Township and the business community in the long-running battle, calls it “A huge win for Coloma Township and the Coloma community.” He says, “It means the County can no longer operate the gun range at the landfill.” The landfill in question is operated by Landfill Management Company and Hennessy Land Company who joined the Sheriff’s Department and the County in defending their use of the range.
Business owners Joe & Sue Herman from Karma Vista Winery, Jay & Sarah Jollay and Jerry Jollay of Jollay Orchards, Tony & Liz Peterson from Contessa Winery, growers Randy & Annette Bjorge from Bjorge Farms, and Tina Buck from the Chocolate Garden have been fighting against use of the gun range for years, arguing the noise of the shooting harms their businesses many of which are along Friday Road.
Dienes notes, “This is the second time the Michigan Supreme Court has ruled against the County and made it clear that the County had no power to site a land use without Township approval.” He adds, “This case also sets precedent in Michigan. Counties must follow local zoning to site land uses. Local governments, not counties, control land uses in their communities.”
On September 22, 2017 the Michigan Supreme Court agreed to hear an appeal from Berrien County which argued that a September 6, 2016 judgment from the Michigan Court of Appeals suspending operations at the controversial gun range should be set aside.
Today’s ruling from the Michigan Supreme Court was brief. This is it, in its entirety:
On order of the Court, leave to appeal having been granted and the briefs and oral arguments of the parties having been considered by the Court, we VACATE our order or September 22, 2017. The application for leave to appeal the September 6, 2016 judgment of the Court of Appeals is DENIED, because we are no longer persuaded that the questions presented should be reviewed by this Court.
(Note that the capitalized words in the statement are presented verbatim, in context, and represent the emphasis of the court itself and not the publisher of this story.)
Coloma Township Supervisor Ken Parragin was ecstatic when I reached him this morning, saying, “I’m very excited. It’s been a long drawn out affair and we’re glad its over. This put us through a lot of stress.” He adds, “We want to be good friends with the county, but we all have to play by the rules and that means everyone.”
I have reached out to Sarah Jollay who frequently has spoken on behalf of the business community that brought the suit, but have not heard back yet for her response to today’s ruling.
