Special meeting planned to discuss short-term rentals

The Laketown Township Board of Trustees and Planning Commission want residents to share their opinions on the regulation of short-term rentals. The two groups will hold a joint meeting next month to gather input during the current moratorium on some short-term rentals.

Details are still pending, but the meeting is expected to take place on Wednesday, July 2 at the township hall, 4338 Beeline Road.

Both groups agreed at their meetings on Wednesday, June 4, to work out the date. Specifics will be announced when available.

The comments and discussion could lead to changes in the township regulations for short-term rentals.

“We’re going to have to hear from the public on this,” Supervisor Steven Ringelberg told the township board at the Wednesday meeting.

Residents don’t have to wait for the meeting to share their opinions on short-term rentals.

Send comments via email to office@laketowntwp.org, called (616) 335-3050 and leave a comment or send a letter to the township at 4338 Beeline Road, Holland, MI 49423.

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.   Many owners of such properties do not even live in the township, and they often use an outside property management company.

These units cause the most complaints, including noise and trespassing, Ringelberg said.

The owners of free-standing short-term rentals are also “snapping up our housing stock,” Michelle Sall, community development director, told the board in May. The rental buyers are forcing up housing prices and possibly keeping out people who want to live in the township.

Ringelberg explained the pause in licensing, which is handled by the Graafschap Fire Department:

• 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 free-standing short-term rentals that were submitted prior to the moratorium taking effect will still be processed.
• Renewal applications for all short-term rentals will still be accepted.

The moratorium will mean only that the township does not process new short-term license applications for free-standing houses. The township will still keep a record of any applications received and inform the applicant that their license application is rejected because of the moratorium.

More information

Guidelines for all rentals are spelled out in the Zoning Ordinance, Chapter 10 Buildings and Building Regulations, Article III Rental Units, Sec. 10-46 through Sec. 10-53.

Copies of the township’s zoning ordinances are available for review at the township hall, 4338 Beeline Road. They are also available online. Click here.

For more on the application process, click here.