A family builds a greenhouse to grow food in the Colorado mountains — and suddenly finds themselves in court.
In Teller County, local officials are suing the Loop family over a nearly 3,000-square-foot greenhouse. The county claims it's an illegal commercial operation in a residential zone. The family says state law protects their right to grow food — and that the enforcement itself raises serious questions.
Here's the detail that makes this case different:
One of the plaintiffs suing the family is also a sitting county commissioner — and a neighbor in the same subdivision.
This isn't just a zoning dispute. It's a test of:
how much power local governments have over food production
whether state "Right to Farm" protections actually protect anyone
and what happens when enforcement authority and personal interest collide
The Loops have raised multiple defenses, including statutory protections under Colorado's Farm Stand Act, procedural challenges, and constitutional claims. But the heart of the case is simpler — who decides what's legal to grow, and how that decision gets enforced.
This story isn't about tomatoes.
It's about process, power, and how easily farming can be regulated out of existence without ever banning it outright.