A busy Wednesday night at township hall

Board, planning commission welcome public comments at short-term rental meeting at 6 p.m. on Sept. 3.

Laketown Township Hall, 4338 Beeline Road.

There will be three separate meetings on Wednesday, Sept. 3, 2025, in the main meeting room at Laketown Township Hall, 4338 Beeline Road.

  1. At 5 p.m., the board of trustees will hold a working session to determine, among other things, the agenda for its regular meeting on Sept.10.
  2. At 6 p.m., a special committee composed of members of the Laketown Township Board of Trustees and the Planning Commission looking into the future of short-term rentals will hear from residents during its second meeting.
  3. At 8 p.m., the planning commission meets for its regular meeting.

Joint meeting

At the joint meeting of the Laketown Township Board of Trustees and Planning Commission at 6 p.m., there will be a presentation on enforcement of the current short-term rental rules and what can be done in the future as well as a recap of ordinances from surrounding communities.

Remaining time until 8 p.m. will be dedicated to collecting public comments.

No revisions to the rental rules will be made by this joint group, but the public meetings will help give directions to the planning commission which could make changes. Any changes then proposed by the planning commission need approval from the township board.

Public comment

The joint group agreed at its first meeting on Aug. 13 that each person will get up to 3 minutes to comment on short-term rentals. People in the meeting room will be first. After all the people in the room have spoken, people on Zoom will be asked to speak.

People in the room who are speaking should step up to the podium, speak into the microphones and address the joint chairpersons Chad Nienhuis of the planning commission and Steven Ringelberg, township supervisor. Speakers in the room will be asked to state their name and address to be recorded in the minutes.

People in the crowd should remain quiet and respectful of those speaking. One person at a time speaks. Please refrain from cheering, clapping or harassing the speaker. Shouting from the audience is not permitted.

People on Zoom who wish to speak should raise their hand, turn on their video and wait to be called upon by one of the chairpersons. They will be asked to state their name and address to be recorded in the minutes.

Written comments will be read at the group’s Oct. 1 meeting.

Residents may write or email the township with their comments at any time. Send letters to the township at 4338 Beeline Road, Holland, 49423, or email office@laketowntwp.org.

The meeting will end at 8 p.m. because the planning commission has a scheduled meeting.

Public comments will be taken again at the Oct. 1 meeting.

Moratorium

The township board enacted a six-month moratorium on free-standing short-term rentals effective May 19 in an effort to decrease complaints and preserve housing.

Unlike other types of short-term rentals where the owner lives on the property and complaints from neighbors about noise or disruptive behavior are almost non-existent, the owners of free-standing short-term rentals do not live onsite.  Some owners of such properties do not live in the township, and they often use an outside property management company.

At the Aug. 13 joint meeting, the group tabled the idea of developing an appeal process for property owners impacted by the moratorium. Members said they wanted more input from the public.