O Christmas Tree

What to Know: It’s not exactly a war on Christmas, but there’s definitely something Grinchy going on in Canton, Michigan.

“Two brothers, Gary and Matt Percy, decided to start a Christmas tree farm. They bought a patch of land that seemed right,” writes Stephen L. Carter in Bloomberg Opinion. “That’s when the problem started. To clear the space, Canton Township alleges, the brothers cut down 1,500 trees — some of them ‘landmark’ trees — without official permission. The township is seeking $450,000 or more in fines unless the Percy brothers ‘rehabilitate’ the cut land. A judge has issued a temporary restraining order against the farm. The brothers, aided by the Center for the American Future, have responded by filing a lawsuit of their own, claiming that the ordinances they are alleged to have violated in fact violate their constitutional rights.”

The TPPF Take: The township’s tree ordinance is unconstitutional—and mean.

“First, it’s an unconstitutional taking,” says TPPF’s Chance Weldon. “When government prevents you from using your own property as you see fit, and prevents you for generating income from that property, it has, for all practical purposes, seized your land. And second, the fine is excessive, for a violation that has caused absolutely no harm to anyone.”

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