A short term rental (STR) ordinance for Leelanau Township is an action item on the agenda at tomorrow’s (Tuesday, August 11) regular meeting, held at 7pm by remote access.

Leelanau Township supervisor Douglas Scripps tells the Leelanau Ticker the township board is interested in passing a generic ordinance that meets, at a minimum, a registration policy for each landlord, and the identity of a local contact person that can be on the premises in a matter of minutes. “If the STR ordinance meets these minimums, it should pass,” he says.

Among the proposed standards and owner responsibilities in the latest working draft of the ordinance provided by Steve Patmore, Leelanau Township zoning administrator:

 • Permits for short term rentals will be issued in Leelanau Township by calendar year and must be renewed each year. The township will limit number of permits to 150 per calendar year. There are no restrictions on the number of permits that can be issued to a single person.

 • Each STR will need a designated local 24-hour contact person who has access and authority to assume management of the unit and take remedial measures.

 • STR owners must notify immediate neighbors — those within 200 feet of any portion of the short-term rental property — of that 24-hour contact person’s information and submit a signed affidavit to the township that immediate neighbors were notified.

 • A maximum number of nights per year that a home can be rented (to be determined) and a limit on the number of occupants of a rental at any one time based on the number of bedrooms in the home.

 • Special events, outdoor events, parties, weddings or similar activities are not allowed on the site for more than the number of permitted occupants.

Says Scripps, “We expect comments and concerns and will likely table the ordinance until the September meeting, when I hope we can move ahead, with an effective start date of January 1.”

Public comment will be at the beginning and end of the Tuesday township meeting, limited to 3 minutes per commenter. The link to the Zoom meeting can be found in the agenda. 

Scripps adds that he, along with trustee Galen Leighton, are leaving the board this fall so the implementation — and possible amending — will be done by the new board.

Photo: Lake Michigan cottage by Josh Hild