LEMON TOWNSHIP, Ohio — The fight over Garver Family Farm Market took center stage at Tuesday's Butler County commissioners meeting, where supporters urged the county to stop pursuing its legal challenge against the Lemon Township farm.
WATCH: Why Butler County is appealing and why supporters of Garver are speaking out.
The county, however, is moving forward with an appeal.
The dispute centers on the market's agricultural status and whether the expanded operation complied with county zoning and permitting requirements.
The Garver family has argued the market is protected under Ohio's agricultural-use laws. County officials contend the operation has expanded beyond what those protections cover and that required permits were not obtained.
The dispute has been ongoing for months.
Why the county is appealing
The Butler County Board of Zoning Appeals ruled in March that Garver could retain its agricultural status.
The county challenged that decision, but Butler County Common Pleas Judge Greg Stephens dismissed the case Aug. 27.
Stephens' ruling was based on whether Butler County Zoning and Building Administrator Dennis Dickard had the legal authority to appeal the BZA's decision.
The judge did not rule that Garver had complied with all zoning or permitting requirements.
Butler County filed an appeal Sept. 23, asking the 12th District Court of Appeals to review the case.
At Tuesday's meeting, Butler County Prosecutor Mike Gmoser defended the county's decision to keep fighting.
“They didn't build an addition to a roadside stand. They built a supermarket,” Gmoser said.
Gmoser also questioned why the county does not have records of certain permits or an agricultural exemption application.
“His excuse for not having a permit, or the exemption application, either one or both of those, is essentially my dog ate my homework,” Gmoser said.
Garver supporters push back
Several people spoke in support of the farm during Tuesday's meeting.
“I think we should do what's right. Back off of Garver's,” one supporter told commissioners.
Another supporter warned against the possibility of the farm losing its agricultural character.
“Garver farms cannot become and should not become a subdivision,” the supporter said.
The Garver family also encouraged supporters to attend the meeting through a social media post.
Garver Family Farm Market has operated as a farm market since 1991. The family opened its newer market at 6790 Hamilton Lebanon Road in 2024.
The operation includes a deli, bakery, coffee service and a winery using grapes grown on the property.
Garver says county official told him he was exempt
Mike Garver told WCPO that he was previously told by a former Butler County zoning official that he did not need to pursue another agricultural exemption for the current location.
“We were told we did not need to investigate that. That we had the exemption since we already received it at a previous location,” Garver said.
Garver has identified the former official as Jim Fox, a former Butler County zoning administrator.
County records from the March BZA hearing show that Fox had previously spoken with Garver about a facility at another location. The county and Garver disagree over what approvals were discussed for the current market.
Garver has said he communicated with county officials during the development of the market and believed the necessary approvals were in place.
The county has maintained that it did not have the proper plans, permits or approvals for the operation at its current location.
What's at the center of the zoning dispute?
The building at 6790 Hamilton Lebanon Road is at the heart of the disagreement.
Garver sells agricultural products grown by his family alongside food, drinks and other products at the market. The property also includes the family's winery.
Garver says the county's characterization of the operation as a larger roadside stand does not account for the agricultural activity taking place there.
“How are we supposed to get a full-blown health permit to ferment wine and process vegetables in a temporary roadside structure?” Garver said.
Ohio law provides special zoning protections for certain agricultural uses.
Under state law, county zoning generally cannot prohibit certain agricultural uses and buildings incidental to agriculture. The law also includes protections for qualifying farm markets and buildings primarily used for vinting and selling wine when specific requirements are met.
Those agricultural protections do not necessarily eliminate every building, health, safety or liquor-related requirement, however.
That distinction is part of the disagreement between Garver and the county.
Commissioners say the courts should decide
Commissioner T.C. Rogers defended the county's decision to continue the case.
“If you don't have a paper saying you can do it and you don't have a paper saying you can't do it then the court has to decide,” Rogers said.
Commissioners Don Dixon and Rogers previously voted to authorize the prosecutor's office to continue challenging the BZA decision. Commissioner Cindy Carpenter voted against continuing the legal challenge.
The appeal is now before the 12th District Court of Appeals.
For Garver, the dispute has become about more than permits and zoning.
“I'm at the bottom. The only place I can go is up, and I'll get back there,” he said.
The legal fight that began in 2025 is now continuing in the appellate courts, with both sides maintaining very different views of what the county required, and what Garver was entitled to do as an agricultural operation.
