NEWAYGO COUNTY, Mich. — On Thursday, a West Michigan couple's fight to open their green cemetery, which would be the first burial forest in the state, is possibly becoming a reality.
Peter and Annica Quakenbush won a major victory over the local Brooks Township board.
Thursday's hearing has been weeks in the making and the couple tells 13 ON YOUR SIDE they’re just happy the judge ruled in their favor.
"My initial reaction was like, am I hearing the words that are coming out of the judge's mouth?" said Annica Quakenbush.
Peter and Annica Quakenbush own 20 acres of land in Brooks Township in Newaygo County.
Over the last two years, they've been hoping to turn their land into a West Michigan Burial Forest and on Thursday, that dream came one step closer to being a reality.
"That's a huge win for us. So we're just feeling incredibly grateful that we could have a third party come in and look at it from an outsider perspective and say this doesn't make any sense. You can't just ban cemeteries," said Annica Quakenbush.
Back in January the couple filed a lawsuit, claiming Brooks Township was infringing on their constitutional rights. In June of 2023 the township board adopted an ordinance that would ban cemeteries in the township after the couple announced their plans. Attorneys for the Quakenbushes said a judge denied a motion by the township board to dismiss the lawsuit and ruled that the township's cemetery ordinance was unconstitutional.
"I think this victory is hugely consequential. It really reaffirms all Michiganders' rights to use their property to engage in a business that does not harm the public. The court did two things, it denied their motion, and then it made a declaration that the cemetery ordinance and the zoning amendments are unreasonable and therefore unconstitutional under Michigan law," said Katrin Marquez, Institute for Justice Attorney.
The burial forest would act as both a cemetery and a nature preserve and would only use decomposable materials for burial. Despite Thursday's ruling, the Quakenbushes still don't have permission to open the burial forest. Annica said she and her husband will be applying for a special use permit in the next few weeks.
"The special use permit is necessary for us to move forward with the cemetery, the state cemetery commission permission and the next permissions that we need for legally opening a cemetery, but first we need the township to approve us opening a cemetery on this piece of land," said Annica Quakenbush.
13 ON YOUR SIDE also reached out to Brooks Township for their reaction from Thursday's hearing but did not get a response.