Michigan judge buries local cemetery ban

A township ordinance that banned all new cemeteries is unconstitutional, a Michigan judge ruled Thursday, Aug. 15.

Brooks Township banned new cemeteries in June 2023, after Peter and Annica Quakenbush had bought land to start a green cemetery business. The couple sued the township of 3,500 residents, with legal help from the Institute for Justice, a nonprofit public interest law firm.

The Newaygo County Circuit Court heard oral arguments Aug. 15 on a motion for summary disposition brought by Brooks Township, which sought to dismiss a lawsuit.

The court denied the motion and ruled that the township’s ban on new cemeteries was unconstitutional. Next, the court will enter a written order formalizing the ruling, which the township can appeal.

“We’re excited and feel vindicated by this ruling,” the Quakenbushes said in a statement. “We are delighted that the judge understood that Brooks Township’s ordinance violated our right to use our property and operate our cemetery.”

The 20-acre property houses a white oak and white pine forest over 100 years old. The couple plans to offer more burial choices in the green cemetery, in which bodies are buried in the earth in a wooden or wicker casket or no container.

Green burials do not use vaults, which are stone or concrete containers that surround a casket in traditional burials. As of Dec. 13, 2023, there were about 445 green burial cemeteries and burial grounds in the United States and Canada, according to NHfuneral.org, a resource for those interested in green burials.

Institute for Justice attorney Katrin Marquez welcomed the ruling.

“This victory recognizes Peter and Annica’s constitutional right to start a business,” Marquez said in a statement. “The township can’t just ban a necessity of life like a cemetery. People won’t stop dying just because the township doesn’t want them buried there.”

Brooks Township did not respond to a request for comment. The township is about 48 miles north of Grand Rapids.