The Fruit Growers News - October 2001


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Land Preservation Victory

Voters support grape grower’s request to detach out of village

By Karen Gentry Associate Editor

Score one for farmland preservation in Southwest Michigan. In a rare case of a village losing land to a township, voters handily approved a fruit grower’s decision to detach his vineyards and orchards out of the village of Mattawan, Mich. and annex into Antwerp Township. In a special referendum election Aug. 21, it was 709-159 (81% voting in favor) in a victory for farmland preservation and open spaces. When developers looked at the rolling hills and land of Ryan’s Vineyards, owned by Francis Ryan in Mattawan, Mich. they saw dollar signs and visions of $250,000+ homes on sizable parcels. Members of the Mattawan Village Council saw the potential for millions of dollars worth of potential tax revenues in this burgeoning village west of Kalamazoo. Ryan wanted all along to preserve his farm. He grows 66 acres of Concord grapes on part of his 165 acres and rents orchard land to Bill Schultz, a neighboring grower in Antwerp Township with 240 acres of fruit. The topography, elevation and soil of Ryan’s Vineyards is an ideal location for growing fruit. Ryan’s corner of Mattawan is on rolling hills distinctly different from the flat plain where the rest of the town is situated. “The village had no plans for preserving any farms,” said Schultz. He said he heard council members say that they needed Ryan’s farm for future development. “They salivate. He has two miles of frontage on four roads,” said Schultz about developers. Schultz has felt the effects of development directly as Valley View Farms, a 56-plat subdivision, borders his land to the east of his property. Many felt that Ryan’s efforts to preserve his land were thwarted along the way by council members, who twice failed to approve his application to Michigan’s Purchase of Development Rights (PDR) program. Under the PDR program the state purchases the development rights of the property and the future use of the land is then restricted to farmland and open space and may be sold as such. Through this program the grower must have the approval of the local municipality. Both votes on his application by the council were 3-2 in his favor, although a 2/3 majority was necessary to have it approved. On the seven-member council there was one abstention and one absent during the vote. Some of Ryan’s troubles escalated with the village three years ago when the village obtained a grant for financing a $9.5 million sewer system. This occurred after Ryan’s first rejection of his PDR application. The village needed a sewer system because of expansion of businesses in Mattawan such as a plastics company with 600 employees. Ryan believed a sewer system could destroy his chances for his second PDR application. The sewers went in around Ryan’s property in mid to late summer in 1999. “The village didn’t want to limit themselves from other opportunities,” Ryan said. “I saw the sewer as a threat to the farm,” he said. Last January the council offered to reverse itself and endorse Ryan’s effort to participate in the state’s PDR program if Ryan would connect to the village sewer system and abandon his bid to detach his and other property from the village. Acceptance into the state program was not assured and Ryan didn’t bite on the offer, feeling his best bet for preserving his farm was to become part of the township. “Rather than put it (sewers) just where it was most needed, they also wanted to put it where future development would occur,” said Suzanne French, Ryan’s sister. At that time Ryan sent the village a letter requesting to keep his land in agriculture and asking that sewers not be put in. Ryan’s recourse as well as his sister and nephew who own homes nearby and 14 other homeowners, was to detach out of the village and annex into Antwerp Township and voters overwhelmingly agreed. The land and the other homes were included in the annexation proposal to provide a clean boundary between the village and the township. By the time the village sent out letters telling Ryan and other homeowners that they were expected to connect to a sewer, Ryan had hired an attorney. A first petition in November 2000 for annexation into the township was turned down on a technicality. The second petition was approved by the Van Buren County Commission in April 2001, prompting the Aug. 21 special election. Ryan’s five-year struggle with the village garnered attention and public support of some heavy hitters including a Kalamazoo newspaper columnist and David Braganini, president of St. Julian Wine Company from nearby Paw Paw. Braganini said he favors landowners’ rights including the right to develop if they want to. “He wanted it preserved. They (council members) fought him every step of the way,” said Braganini. Although he wouldn’t typically get involved in these types of issues he felt that Ryan deserved all the support he could get. “Once it’s not a vineyard, it will never be a vineyard again,” said Braganini, who buys grapes from growers in three counties including a grower in Antwerp Township. He doesn’t buy any of Ryan’s grapes as they are sold to Welch’s. He said he disagreed with the forceful stand the council was taking and he thought the council was “nickel and diming” Ryan with stalling tactics. Ryan’s grandfather William Ryan bought a portion of the land in 1902 and more land was purchased by his parents, Frank and Irene in 1940. Ryan’s uncle William and father operated the vineyards for many years. Ryan, who has no heirs, has been farming ever since he graduated from Mattawan High School in 1962. That was about the time Mattawan, encompassing four square miles, became an incorporated village. “We’re just glad that we finally prevailed and won this,” said Ryan. Schultz believes many in the township voted in favor of Ryan’s annexation because they like the rural aspect of the township and want to keep it that way. “People do see a need for land preservation,” said Schultz.