SALEM TOWNSHIP, Mich. — A local farmer who’s been doing agritourism activities on his farm for years may have to cancel his Christmas activities because of a zoning issue.

The controversy has been brewing since September, when local officials showed up at Garry and Sherry Whittaker’s Three Cedars Farm in Salem Township to tell them they shouldn’t hold their barn dance because of safety issues. They showed up armed with a letter from the township attorney.

The barn dance was held anyway, but since then Whittaker has said he would cancel his Christmas activities, which include showing off their Christmas lights, selling Christmas trees, wreaths, roping, hot cocoa and offering photos with Mr. and Mrs. Claus.

Whittaker, who grows pumpkins and corn on his farm, said canceling his Christmas activities was a “decision made between me and my family. When they showed up unannounced (about the barn dance), I can’t tell you how stressful that was. They gave me no advice on what to do. There’s not a whole lot of help out there on this.”

That seemed to be the word from Wayne Whitman, too. He’s the environmental manager at the Michigan Department of Agriculture and Rural Development (MDARD) and is responsible for administering the state’s Right to Farm law. “I field calls weekly, sometimes daily, from landowners and sometimes township officials, about something that’s going on on a property and whether it’s impacted by the Right to Farm law,” Whitman said.

“Under Right to Farm, the definition of a farm is very broad, but Right to Farm doesn’t apply to ag-tourism.”

He said sometimes there’s no choice but to tell a farmer he has to get a lawyer to help sort it all out. Whittaker said he’s hoping to work something out with township officials and he does have a lawyer.

Robert Heyl, the supervisor for Salem Township, wasn’t available for a comment, but he did post a detailed account of what happened from the township’s perspective, online. Heyl said Whittaker’s operation changed over time, becoming much bigger than it was in 2004 when his agritourism activities began. At that time nobody from the township seemed to be concerned about what Whittaker was doing on his property.

“The Whittakers have never applied for a special use permit or a change of zoning for their commercial operation, have never applied for certificates of occupancy for many of their buildings and have never even appeared at a Township board meeting to discuss Three Cedars with the Township officials,” Heyl wrote. “Instead, Mr. Whittaker has chosen to try and gain public sympathy by using the newspapers and Facebook and Three Cedars Farm web page.”

The statement also says the township had “no choice” but to “advise” Whittaker about problems existing with his buildings. For example, the post claims there are electrical issues with some of his buildings and that they could pose a danger to the public.

But Whittaker said he obtained safety permits from the Salem Township Fire Department and thought that was sufficient. He also said when he heard Heyl and other local officials had an issue with his buildings, he tried to reach them by telephone to try and work them out. But he said they never got back in touch.

He also denied he advertised the issue to the media, which has gotten attention from local television stations and newspapers; he said his son posted something about it on Facebook, and that the issue took off. He also denied he has any political motives, but now wonders if he should become more political.

“I’ve been approached by other people over the years to run for office and I’ve always said no, but now after the way they’ve treated me, I’m wondering,” Whittaker said. “I just haven’t been treated fairly. It’s amazing how people are supportive of the farm. It’s amazing how word spreads. It wasn’t orchestrated.”

Whittaker said a meeting has been scheduled with township officials to try to work things out: “I don’t want to be negative right now. I just want to see what’s on the table.”