Extension for short-term rental moratorium proposed

The Laketown Township Board of Trustees will decide on Wednesday, Nov. 12, 2025, whether to extend its moratorium on certain types of short-term rentals.

The decision will come after the six-month pause on new applications for free-standing short-term rentals was approved in May and a special joint committee of the township board and planning commission met four times to gather information on the issue.

That special committee wrapped up its fact gathering and public comment collection on Wednesday, Nov. 5. The issue of the moratorium then went to the planning commission that same night.

The planning commission unanimously voted to recommend that the township board vote to extend the moratorium on free-standing short-term rentals where the owner does not live on the property until June 30, 2026.

The moratorium went into effect on May 19 and is set to expire Nov. 18.

The board meeting is 6 p.m. Wednesday, Nov. 12, at the township hall, 4338 Beeline Road. Zoom is available.

All township meetings use the same Zoom code. To attend a township meeting on Zoom, click on https://zoom.us/j/4556718351

The meeting ID is 455 671 8351. To join by telephone, call (312) 626-6799.

Concerns about short-term rentals

Planning Chairperson Chad Nienhuis said an extension is appropriate because more information is still needed including a map denoting locations of all short-term rentals and information on how other area municipalities regulate their short-term rentals.

Licensing requirements, which zoning districts short-term rentals can be located in, and enforcement will have to be considered, the planners said.

The Nov. 5 special joint committee meeting was attended by more than 20 people in person and about a dozen participants on Zoom.

Comments focused on noise, traffic and that the rentals are a commercial use in a residential zone. Enforcement of rules was also a focus.

Township Board Supervisor Steve Ringelberg said a part-time code enforcement officer could cost $45 an hour and a full-time deputy from the Allegan County Sheriff’s Department could cost more than $145,000.

Committee members discussed raising licensing fees to help pay for an enforcement officer. One member suggested considering a millage to pay for enforcement.

The special joint commission made no decisions and dissolved after the Nov. 5 meeting.

What the moratorium does

The moratorium on issuing licenses does not affect all short-term rentals, just ones in free-standing houses.

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 even live in the township, and they often use an outside property management company.

Here’s how the moratorium impacts other types of short-term rentals:

• Applications for new attached accessory dwelling short-term rentals, where people stay in a property owner’s house, will still be accepted.
• Applications for new detached accessory dwelling unit short-term rentals, where people stay in a separate unit that is still on the owner’s property, will still be accepted.
• Applications for new free-standing short-term rentals that were submitted prior to the moratorium taking effect will still be processed.
• Renewal applications for currently licensed short-term rentals will still be accepted.