An Oronoko Township winery has prevailed in a court case involving the permit for its tasting room.
The Oronoko Township Planning Commission approved a special use permit for the Chill Hill Winery tasting room at Lakeview Vineyards in 2021, but with some conditions that limited noise and hours of operation. Lakeview appealed that to the Berrien County Circuit Court and Judge Dennis Wiley in 2022 ruled in the winery’s favor, partly because a competitor of Lakeview, Jeff Lemon of Lemon Creek Winery, had a voice in the planning commission discussions as the body’s chair.
Although Lemon did eventually recuse himself from the matter and didn’t vote on the permit, Wiley found the “Planning Commission did not follow proper procedure in adding the hours and sound condition because Chairman Lemon, a competitor of [Lakeview], was directly involved in generating those conditions.”
Oronoko Township then appealed to the Michigan Court of Appeals, asking that the matter be sent back to the planning commission. However, the Michigan Court of Appeals on Thursday reaffirmed Wiley’s decision. It writes because the planning commission’s “decision followed unlawful procedure resulting in material prejudice from Lemon’s improper involvement, the circuit court properly removed the conditions, and a remand to the planning commission is not necessary.”
The Lakeview Vineyards Chill Hill tasting room can now operate without the noise and hours of operation restrictions laid out for it by the planning commission, and its special use permit stands.
