In case 367503, a panel of the Michigan Court of Appeals granted Kalamazoo County the authority to acquire the 0.33‑acre cottage at 1739 East U Avenue, Vicksburg, a parcel surrounded by Prairie View Park.
The cottage, bought by the Berry family in the 1950s, has remained in private hands while the county built picnic shelters and a swimming area around it.
County officials cited the 1960 public‑use plan for the park, while Berry family lawyers contended that the plan was obsolete after six decades.
Judge Wallace, Cameron and Korobkin held that adding the land to an existing park satisfies the public‑use requirement under section 123.61 of the Michigan Compiled Laws, and that the county complied with the Uniform Condemnation Procedures Act.
The county must now offer fair‑market compensation; if agreement fails, the case returns to trial court, and the Berry family can petition the Michigan Supreme Court. The county is preparing to file the final condemnation notice.
For many of the Berry heirs, the cottage has been a summer retreat; the court order threatens to erase a family legacy that has endured for six generations.