Overreach Watch — File a Case

Section 1 — About you

1.1 — Your name

Why we ask: Your case file needs a real person behind it. Your name stays in the private file — the public page shows your township and your land, not your contact details.

1.2 — Your phone number

Why we ask: Private, always. If the city finally answers your case, we need to reach you fast — and a city answer with a deadline on it can't wait for email.

1.3 — Your email address

Why we ask: Private, always. This is how you get back into your case to add papers, photos, and updates.

1.4 — How are you connected to this property? I own it It's my family's land I rent / lease it Other — explain below

Why we ask: It matters more than people think. Land passed down in a family, or a son carrying on a farm his father started, tells a different story than a brand-new buyer — and the city knows it.

1.5 — If the property owner is someone else, who are they to you?

Why we ask: If the farm was your dad's and now it's yours — or you're filing for family who can't — that chain is part of the case, and we want it written down right. Skip if you're the owner.

1.6 — Is anyone under 18 part of this story? No Yes

Why we ask: If yes, we never print a child's full name on the public page — no exceptions. We just need to know so we protect them from the start.

Section 2 — About the property

2.1 — Property address

Why we ask: Your case file needs the real parcel. PRIVATE — by itself, filing here does not put your house number on the internet; the public page shows your street or nearest cross-streets, not your exact address. The one choice that can change this is the extra box at the end.

2.2 — What city, township, or village is this in?

Why we ask: This is how cases get counted. One case is a complaint. Thirty cases against the same township is a story — and the counts are how this works. Any municipality in Michigan can be typed in; the list just suggests ones already on the registry's map.

2.3 — How many acres is the property, all together?

Why we ask: Acreage is the difference between a backyard and a farm, and cities count on people not saying it out loud. It goes on your public page because it's one of the strongest facts you have.

2.4 — How much of that land is actually in use — farmed, pastured, worked, or lived on?

Why we ask: A city will call 40 acres "residential" and hope nobody asks how much of it is fields and pasture. The used acres say what the land really is.

2.5 — How long has your family — or you — owned this land?

Why we ask: Long roots change how a case reads. Land held by one family for decades isn't a loophole somebody found last year.

Section 3 — Your use, and how long

This is the heart of your case. Take your time here. There's no wrong way to say it — plain words beat legal words every time.

3.1 — What do you do on your land?

Why we ask: This is the use the city is trying to stop, in your words. Everything else on this form hangs off this answer.

3.2 — When did you start?

Why we ask: This is the big one. A use that's older than the rule is the strongest thing you can have. If your family started it before you, say when they started — the clock runs from the beginning, not from you.

3.3 — Who started it — you, or family before you? Me My parents / grandparents The people who owned it before us Not sure

Why we ask: A use passed down hand to hand, family to family, without stopping is still one continuous use. We want the record to show the whole chain.

3.4 — Has it ever stopped for more than a few months? No, it's never stopped Yes, it stopped for a while Not sure

Why we ask: Be honest — it helps you, not hurts you. A use that never stopped is the strongest kind. A gap doesn't kill a case, but a gap we find out about later does. Tell us first.

3.5 — If it stopped, when — and why?

Why we ask: Why it stopped matters. A pause for a death in the family, a deployment, an illness, or a season is a different story than walking away from the use and coming back years later. Say it plainly. Skip if it never stopped.

3.6 — Has it gotten bigger or changed over the years? About the same as always It's grown It's smaller than it was It changed into something different

Why we ask: Same reason as the gap question — honesty protects you. Ten chickens in 2005 and four hundred in 2025 is a different case, and the city will say so. If we know it first, we sort your case right.

3.7 — If it grew or changed, tell us how

Why we ask: Growth in small steps over thirty years reads very differently than doubling overnight. Your words here keep the record fair — in your favor and against you, which is the only kind of record worth having. Skip if it's about the same.

3.8 — Did the city ever treat your land like a farm before all this? They let us build without a permit because it was agricultural They issued us a permit or license for this use They taxed or assessed it as farmland They sent us a letter saying the use was fine A city person told us it was fine (in person or on the phone) No, never Not sure

Why we ask: This might be the most valuable answer on the whole form. If the city once treated your land as a farm — waived a permit, called it agricultural, taxed it that way — and now calls the same land "just residential," the city is contradicting itself, and that's gold. Dig for it.

3.9 — If you ticked any box above, tell us what happened, as best you remember

Why we ask: Even without the paperwork in hand, your account tells us what to look for. Dates help ("about four years ago we put up the pole barn"), but memory is fine. If you do have the paper, you'll upload it in Section 6 — that's where this answer turns into proof.

Section 4 — What the city says

4.1 — What does the city say your land is zoned? Residential Agricultural Mixed / something else They've said different things at different times They never actually said — they just sent a violation Not sure

Why we ask: The city's own words go on your public page, next to your acres and your years. If they've called it two different things, that contradiction is part of your case.

4.2 — What rule are they saying you broke?

Why we ask: Half the people who get violation letters were never clearly told which rule they broke. If it's on your letter, we put it on the record. If it's not, that absence is on the record too.

4.3 — What are they telling you to do? Stop the use Get rid of animals Remove a building or structure Apply for a variance or permit (a variance — the city's permission to break its own rule) Pay fines Something else — say what below

Why we ask: "Stop" and "apply for a variance" are very different fights. What they're demanding sets what your case actually is.

4.4 — Everything the city has sent or done — list it with dates

Why we ask: Dates turn a story into a record. Judges, reporters, and board members believe timelines. List every letter and visit you can remember — the uploads in Section 6 back it up.

4.5 — Have you had a hearing, a meeting, or a court date about this? No Yes

Why we ask: If you've already stood in front of the board, what happened in that room matters — including if they wouldn't let you speak or never gave you an answer.

Section 5 — What happened next

From here on, your case page keeps a running log of the city's responses — dated, in public. This section starts that log with everything that's already happened since you answered back.

5.1 — Have you answered the city? I wrote/called back I went to a meeting or hearing I hired a lawyer I applied for what they asked I haven't answered yet

Why we ask: A family that has written, shown up, and asked — and been ignored — is a stronger case than one that hasn't engaged yet. Both are fine here. We just record which.

5.2 — What did the city do after that?

Why we ask: Every response — a letter, a call, a ruling — goes on your case page with its date. So does the silence between them.

5.3 — Has the city ever just… not answered? Yes — I wrote or asked and heard nothing back No, they've always replied I haven't asked anything yet

Why we ask: Silence is part of the record here. Your public page carries a counter — "the city last responded X days ago" — and long silences on strong cases say more than any argument.

5.4 — If they didn't answer: what did you send, and when?

Why we ask: "No response as of today" only counts if we can show what they were asked and when. One line from you starts the clock honestly. Skip if they've always replied.

5.5 — Anything else about how the city has handled this that you want on the record?

Why we ask: Things like "my neighbor does the same thing and never got a letter" or "the officer told me this came from one complaint" can matter — selective enforcement and quiet pressure are part of a case. Say it here; a reviewer decides what's provable enough to publish.

Section 6 — Your proof

Upload what you have. Phone photos of paper are fine — just make them readable. Don't hold back because something feels small: the oldest, plainest paper is often the best. You can add more later, any time.

6.1 — The city's own papers

The violation letter, citations, fine notices, court papers — anything the city sent you.

Why we ask: A case backed by the city's own paperwork is a verified case. This is the single upload that does the most for you.

6.2 — Proof the city treated your land as a farm

The permit they waived or issued, assessment or tax records calling it agricultural, any letter saying the use was fine, building department sign-offs.

Why we ask: This is the gold from question 3.8 — the city contradicting itself, in the city's own hand. If you have even one page like this, your case changes weight.

6.3 — Proof your use is as old as you say

Oldest first if you can: dated photos, old advertisements, newspaper clippings, business licenses, receipts and invoices, tax bills, utility bills in the business name, old social media posts with the dates showing.

Why we ask: Your "since when" answer is the strongest field on this form — and proof is what makes it undeniable. One dated photo from twenty years ago can be worth more than a lawyer's letter.

6.4 — Photos of the property and the use, as it is now

Straight from your phone.

Why we ask: Acres read as a number until people see them. A photo of forty acres of pasture does what no argument can — it shows the "residential lot" claim for what it is.

6.5 — Neighbors who can back you up

Why we ask: A case with forty neighbors behind it reads differently than a case with one angry owner — to the press, to the board, and to the city. Even two or three help. Optional — and their names stay private unless they say otherwise.

6.6 — Anything you want in your file but NOT on your public page

Files here are private. Reviewers see them; the public never does.

Why we ask: Some proof helps your case but shouldn't be public — financial papers, family documents, anything with account or ID numbers. You should never have to choose between proving your case and protecting your family. Upload it here.

Before you file — the honest part

These boxes are the deal between you and this site. Read them — they're short, and they matter.

What goes on your public page: your city or township · your street name or nearest cross-streets (not your house number, unless you tick the extra box below) · your acreage · the use in dispute · your timeline — the year your use started and the date the enforcement began · the city's claims, in the city's words · a dated log of every city response, including how long they've been silent · the verdict on your case and the plain-English reasons for it · your evidence photos and the city's documents, with personal details — phone numbers, signatures, account numbers — blacked out before posting.

What never goes on your public page: your phone number · your email address · your mailing address beyond the location above · the full legal names of anyone under 18 · financial documents · anything showing an account or ID number · anything you uploaded to the private box (6.6) or marked private.

Filing puts your case in the review queue as a FILED case. Nothing is public yet — a reviewer looks at the evidence first, under the standard on the How It Works page.

Tell us what the city is doing to your land.