MERIDIAN TOWNSHIP - Local resident Mike McCurdy recently filed to rezone his property on Okemos Road to rural residential, despite the eight hundred dollar rezoning fee, in order to keep his goats. McCurdy says he would have rather had the rules been changed, as opposed to paying a fee, since he has enough property for the goats to live on.

"It doesn't make sense that a property of this size has the same rules as a little eight-acre lot in the middle of a subdivision," said McCurdy. "They're not equal parcels, there's clearly more room."

McCurdy says that those with enough property, should be able to freely own animals.

Treasurer Julie Brixie weighed in on this issue, offering to personally create a Go-Fund-Me account to help cover the cost of the rezoning.

McCurdy appreciated the creativity involved in solving the issue, but decided to pay the rezoning fee themselves.

"We have to make sure we treat everyone the same, and treat people with respect," said Brixie. "We do have fees for our different processes and procedures, that are based on how much money it costs to get that done."

Whenever there is a rezoning, letters are sent to the surrounding properties--a fee that can add up to around $400.

The re-zoning of the McCurdy's land is expected to be seen by the Township Board for approval sometime in the near future.