Planners in Lincoln Township will be taking a look at a possible ordinance to regulate short-term rental properties as the Michigan Legislature considers bills that would do the same statewide.
At meeting this week, the Lincoln Township Board of Trustees was told the planning commission would like to draft a local rule, just to have something on the books if the state legislation fails. Trustee Marc Florian told us it’s not known what will happen with the package of bills championed by state Representative Joey Andrews.
“They could make the entire exercise moot,” Florian said. “They could completely usurp any regulation that we at the local unit might come up with. Not to cast a stone at what Representative Andrews is trying to do. He’s trying to walk the fence on some of these issue. He’s trying to get statewide registration and he’s trying to develop a fair and equitable tax to bring short-term rentals on par with hotels and motels. But the bill that he’s introduced fails to address whether or not this is a commercial use.”
Florian said a big question for local planners is whether an STR is a business and what that means if it’s located in a residential area.
There’s currently a short-term rental moratorium in place in the township, and the planning commission wants to tackle the issue before it expires.
Trustees told Florian to have the planning commission proceed.
