St. Joseph Commissioners Keeping Eye On Short Term Rental Legislation

downtownsj7566-23
downtownsj7566-23

There hasn’t been much action since July on a bill in the Michigan Legislature that would take away local control over short term rental properties, but St. Joseph City Manager John Hodgson says the bill could get moving again now that the state budget is finished. Speaking to the St. Joseph City Commission Monday, Hodgson said that’s what he’s heard from the Michigan Municipal League. The commission is keeping its eye on the legislation, which it opposes. Mayor Mike Garey said Monday large businesses that want to buy up properties to be rented out as vacation homes are behind the effort to strip local control.

“The issue’s not that we are against short term rentals,” Garey said. “We have them. We have them in appropriate places.”

Commissioner Jeff Richards said short term rentals can cause problems when they are in the inappropriate neighborhoods. Those problems could include noise and trash. Hodgson said the city commission will continue to get regular updates on the status of the legislation.