u/spookaburra

I have been planning for my goal of a homestead for years now. I know the general area I want to buy land in, and I know what I want to do with my land, but I would really like to sit down with someone who I can just have a conversation with about my goals so I don't make a mistake and buy land that isn't zoned correctly for my dreams. I've been doing research but I'm just so lost sometimes in all the legalities. If anybody is willing to help me by either giving me who to contact or just having a conversation with me, I would really appreciate it.

Ideal location: southern Michigan, preferably somewhere in the Niles, Berrien Springs, or Buchanan area. Open to others though.

Ideal land: at least 10 acres, preferably around half to be wooded, ideally with some sort of creek/pond/water source.

Ideal amenities: something that already has a house and barn on it. I would rather not have to go through the process of building, digging a well, handling septic, etc. right off the bat. I'm fine with a lot of diy though if it's not in the best shape.

My dream is to have a little commune with some intentional community. Currently just my partner and my brother, possibly my other brother might join as well but may not be until several years later. This means I want to be able to have more than one dwelling on the property. It could end up just being the two dwellings, but the ability to have 3 or maybe even 4 would be preferred. That's where zoning laws have started confusing me.

I also, ideally, would be able to run a business from this homestead. I have a strong passion for native plants and have a dream of a native plant nursery, maybe even some intentionally planted trails on the property for visitors to enjoy and learn more about native ecosystems when they visit. I have a lot of different skills in homesteading so will likely pursue other areas of profit like vegetable gardening/preserving, wool, building small structures like coops, etc. and being able to run my business from my property and sell from my property would be a plus. I also have horses and am comfortable with their care and have considered the possibility of offering some simple pasture board as another form of income.

So that all being said,

what zoning should the property have for me to be able to do all of this?

Will I need to parcel it out to be able to build more than one dwelling?

Is it even considered a dwelling if it uses a composting toilet and collected rainwater instead of septic?

What if someone were to want to live in a camper or RV on the property for a while? What is needed for that to be allowed?

How hard is it to get a property re-zoned if it's perfect but doesn't line up exactly with what I want to do on the property?

If I were to find the perfect property but need to request some sort of zoning allowance for things like additional dwellings, etc. can I make the sale contingent on that zoning being accepted? And if I do that, how likely am I to actually get the property? Seems like a seller would more likely just go with someone else at that point.

Is there a point of contact in that area who I could ask all these questions to?

Aside from zoning I guess any other advice on what i should be prepared for with buying a large property, things I probably haven't considered, etc. would be nice. I have a lot of the skills, but I've never done this before and I know there's going to be a lot of learning to do. Im also aware that my idealized dream might be too big, and that's fine. I don't expect everything to end up exactly as I hoped, but I might as well have something to reach for. So if there are things I should just give up on now, feel free to tell me.

I'm hoping to buy in the next 1-2 years so I have some time still to prepare.

I'm assuming the answer is no, aside from me swimming over there and kindly asking them to stfu. Or not so kindly. I expect that anything I do will make them just be louder honestly, they don't seem like the respectful type.

From my understanding, it is illegal for them to be camping on that island as it is technically impossible to be 200ft from the water. I found the contact for local offices but they all say they are closed until Monday. Is there any way to report illegal camping like this? They are shouting and blasting music and it's echoing all across the river. I come out here intentionally to get away from people and not have to deal with loud obnoxious camping neighbors.

It's not even good music -.-

Happened a couple weeks ago now, my girlfriend mowed my lawn for me and when she tipped the mower on its side was cleaning it out, and some gas leaked onto the pile of grass clippings. It has rained a number of times now. Is this safe to add to my compost or do I trash it?

Planning a little out and back camping trip and was thinking of camping at the end of the Angels windows trail (300 ft off trail and all that), I know there is a little waterfall there, was thinking it'd be a convenient place to fill up on water, while I'm out so I don't have to carry a bunch of water, but wanted to know if sometimes it dries up and to expect there's a chance it could be not flowing?