PARK TOWNSHIP, Mich. — A multi-year legal saga notched another milestone this week as a county judge said the Zoning Board of Appeals in Park Township properly interpreted the township's ban on short-term rentals when it denied an appeal by more than 100 property owners.
Judge Jon Hulsing in Ottawa County's 20th Circuit Court ruled in favor of the township, leaving the ban against short-term rentals in place.
Back in 2022, Park Township amended its zoning rules to explicitly define and ban short-term renting of residential properties often made available through services like Airbnb and Vrbo. However that amendment and ones made in 2023 were ruled to be made improperly.
They also attracted a lawsuit by dozens of property owners.
Ottawa
Death of short-term rentals looms in Park Township
In 2024 the Park Township Zoning Board went through the amendment process again, this time to the judge's liking. That step ended a previous lawsuit against the township over the ban.
READ MORE:
Study: Businesses say Park Township short-term rental ban would have "long-term" consequences
Judge temporarily lifts short-term rental ban in Park Township
Park Township short-term rental owners selling properties after zoning board's ruling
Boxed in by Airbnb: Park Township woman praises residential ban
Short-term rental owners request compromise ahead of residential ban
This past spring, a group of roughly 107 short-term rental owners went to the Park Township Zoning Board of Appeals, asking that board to rule that short-term rentals on residential properties were permitted before the 2024 amendment and grandfathering in dozens of properties.
Ottawa
Park Township short-term rental owners present their plea at hearing
The board disagreed, citing zoning ordinances from 1963 and 1974 which both banned the commercial use of property for transient lodging.
Judge Jon Hulsing in his November 4 ruling agreed with the appeals board, specifically citing an admission by the property owners' attorneys that many short-term rentals fit the definition of a motel, which was established in the 1974 Zoning ordinance.
"The ZBA [Zoning Board of Appeals] did not err," Judge Hulsing finished his order.
Read the full order below
Park Twp Short-Term Rental Zoning Board of Appeals Appeal Ruling by WXMI
