By: Stan Maddux
Citizens will be given a chance to express their feelings on a possible ordinance governing short term rentals in Buchanan. A public hearing will be part of the regularly scheduled Buchanan Commissioners meeting on July 28 at 7 p.m. at City Hall. The city commission has put the issue on the front burner this year and directed the city’s planning commission to develop an ordinance proposal to bring back to the commission.
A ban on new short term rentals was imposed in March to allow local officials to study restrictions imposed in communities like New Buffalo and consider what should be done, if anything, in Buchanan.
In New Buffalo, a ban was imposed a few years ago on new short term rentals in residential neighborhoods.
The action stemmed from concerns about noise and too many homes converted into short term rentals not becoming available on the market to prospective new residents.
New short term rentals in New Buffalo are permitted now only in commercially zoned districts.
The ones existing prior to the new restrictions are allowed to operate at their current locations.
“We’re not against them but we want to determine where and how many short term rentals the city should allow,” said Richard Murphy, Community Development Director for the City of Buchanan.
Murphy estimated the number of short term rentals in Buchanan at less than 20.
He said the idea behind a possible ordinance is to avoid the major issues with short term rentals elsewhere before they could arise here.
“We think short term rentals do have a place in Buchanan. We are a destination but what is the right balance? That’s what we’re trying to strike,” he said.
Buchanan resident Joseph Williams operates a short term rental from the second floor of his commercially zoned building at Main and Front streets.
He doesn’t believe any ordinance will impact his operation since it’s already in a commercially zoned district.
Williams said he understands some of the concerns about short term rentals including their potential to have a negative impact on future school enrollment.
However, Williams said he hopes Buchanan officials due to the economic growth happening in the city don’t go as far as New Buffalo did with their restrictions which he felt were extreme.
“I think restrictions need to be addressed very cautiously,” he said.
Williams owns other short term rentals in Buchanan Township and works for a property management company that has them nationwide.
He also expressed strong support for the city’s recently adopted $125 annual registration fee and building inspection for short term rentals.
“I think those things are absolutely necessary for the safety of the guests,” he said.
Other requirements in the New Buffalo ordinance include passing safety inspections and complying with all local codes governing issues such as noise, littering and odor.
There must also be a designated agent for a short term rental living within 20 miles of the city.
In a memo to the planning commission, Buchanan City Manager Tony McGhee noted that short term rentals have been found to have a detrimental effect on traditional neighborhoods and school districts. Proposed areas where short term rentals would be allowed include the Red Bud Trail corridor both north and south of downtown.
He said the city’s goal is to balance property rights with the long term health, safety, and cohesion of the city’s residential neighborhoods. Because of that concern, city staff is recommending that the commission limit short term rentals to zoning districts that are not single family residential.
According to McGhee, there is a legal basis for municipalities to regulate short term rentals through their zoning ordinances, adding that short term rentals have both commercial and residential aspects. He said that recent legislative attempts in Lansing to take away local control of short term rentals have failed.
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