Opinion
SC 165878 COA: 360406
11-22-2023
LINDSEY DEZMAN and JON GEIGER, Plaintiffs-Appellees, v. CHARTER TOWNSHIP OF BLOOMFIELD and CHARTER TOWNSHIP OF BLOOMFIELD BOARD OF ZONING APPEALS, Defendants-Appellants.
Oakland CC: 2021-190703-AV
Elizabeth T. Clement, Chief Justice, Brian K. Zahra, David F. Viviano, Richard H. Bernstein, Megan K. Cavanagh, Elizabeth M. Welch, Kyra H. Bolden, Justices
ORDER
On order of the Court, the application for leave to appeal the June 1, 2023 judgment of the Court of Appeals is considered and, pursuant to MCR 7.305(H)(1), in lieu of granting leave to appeal, we REVERSE the judgment of the Court of Appeals holding that the plaintiffs were not required to seek a variance and permission to keep chickens in a chicken coop on their property. The zoning ordinance stated what activities are permitted at the one-family detached dwelling on plaintiffs' property: accessory uses and accessory structures customarily incidental to one-family detached dwellings. Zoning Ordinance § 42-3.1.3(B)(i) and (vi). "Under the ordinance which specifically sets forth permissible uses under each zoning classification . . . absence of the specifically stated use must be regarded as excluding that use." Pittsfield Twp v Malcolm, 375 Mich. 135, 142 (1965). We REMAND this case to the Court of Appeals for consideration of whether the Oakland Circuit Court erred in affirming the decision of the Charter Township of Bloomfield Zoning Board of Appeals to deny the plaintiffs' request to keep chickens in a chicken coop on their property.
We do not retain jurisdiction.