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(Editor’s Note: David Taft urges Old Mission Peninsula residents to vote for candidates running for the position of Peninsula Township Trustee who will support you against the money demands of the Wineries of Old Mission Peninsula. Pictured above are Trustee Candidates, left to right, Warner Queeny, Isaiah Wunsch, Julie Alexander and Dave Sanger, during a Meet and Greet at First Congregational Church. -jb)
Closing arguments on the winery lawsuit concluded on October 29 in Kalamazoo. Representatives of the Wineries of Old Mission Peninsula (WOMP), who are suing Peninsula Township, and Township officials and Protect the Peninsula (PTP) members attended.
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Remember, WOMP/Wineries sued originally for more than $200 million, and made outrageous demands to operate event centers and restaurants with expanded hours and amplified music on agriculturally-zoned land. Remember, they created their tasting rooms and commercial wineries on ag-zoned land on terms that they agreed to in their Special Use Permits.
But that was not enough, so they decided to sue Peninsula Township for their demands in Federal Court.
The Court made initial rulings in April that the wineries do not have the constitutional right to be event centers for large activities like weddings, to operate as restaurants, and without zoning restrictions on hours and music.
But the wineries still want more. They want your money, residents of Old Mission Peninsula, $120 million dollars and court fees that they asked for in their closing argument in Kalamazoo — to settle their demands based on lost profits for not being able to hold large events and operate as restaurants.
Their $120 million demand — estimated to be an average $50,000 bill for every property holder on the Old Mission Peninsula — flies in the face of some Township Board candidates trying to convince voters that the wineries aren’t interested in levying damages against residents.
And farmers, be wary. They also want to be able to make wines from grapes from any location — not mainly from your Old Mission Peninsula farms.
The Township and PTP’s legal counsel urged the judge to look at the facts to defend the residents of Peninsula Township. The court will rule on this case in the coming months.
I urge you, voters, to vote for Julie Alexander, Warner Queeny, Dave Sanger, and Isaiah Wunsch for Township Trustees, to continue a strong opposition to the financial demands of the wineries and to support the Master Plan to maintain the rural character of Old Mission Peninsula.
-David Taft
(Read all Peninsula Township Election 2024 News, Opinions and Candidate Questionnaires here. Read all winery lawsuit news and opinions here. -jb)
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David
How conveniently you left out the fact that the new winery ordinance actually mandates that the wineries buy less grapes from the farmers. So it is actually the town that is in the forefront of buying less grapes from peninsula farmers. Why do you think 90% of the farmers opposed 201. And let’s not forget the fact that they increased the acreage requirement for processors so now small farmers can not process their own grapes or any other ag product for that matter. So you and other PTP members can pat yourself on the back and cheer these incumbents on as they did exactly what the PTP people wanted.
Finally I found it interesting that the judge raised a question in last week’s hearing that maybe the PTP had misled the appellate court with regard to the impact the wineries would have on property values given the testimony of their key witness. I am not sure what he will make of that. The issue revolved around the price of PTP land as I recall.
Dave
While you decry any attempt by the wineries to create additional revenue streams as “commercial” on ag land you fail to point out that the wineries are taxed as commercial entities. So it seems the township is ok when it comes to increasing their tax income stream.
Thank you so much for this post, David. I appreciate all of the people speaking out; the bullying has gone on long enough. I also support Julie, Warner, Dave and Isaiah.