OTTAWA COUNTY, Mich. — A judge will soon rule on whether his court has jurisdiction over the short-term rental ban in Park Township following new amendments to township law this spring.
On Monday in Ottawa County Circuit Court, Judge Jon Hulsing heard arguments from attorneys for both Park Township and Park Township Neighbors (PTN), the nonprofit suing the township over how it amended its zoning and regulatory ordinances to enforce a short-term rental ban in residential areas.
The ban, which went into effect in October 2023, was temporarily lifted months later in December after Judge Hulsing granted PTN a preliminary injunction: "We really need to ascertain and get this right," he said at a hearing.
READ MORE: Judge temporarily lifts short-term rental ban in Park Township
Notably, the township passed new short-term rental-related ordinances in March 2024 to offer "clarity and reaffirm our existing regulations" and to ban any new STRs, though it said it had "no intent" to enforce them under the injunction.
"I'm questioning if that has changed the posture of this case," Judge Hulsing said during the Monday hearing, asking if the recent amendments, if properly passed, had brought the case out of the court's jurisdiction and back to the township.
"If plaintiffs don't get past that issue, they don't get past go," Judge Hulsing said.
The plaintiffs, though, say returning the case to Park Township authorities would be "futile."
“More than likely, we end up back here in six or eight months anyways," said Jeremy Allen, president of Park Township Neighbors. "The township has already said, 'No, we're not at all interested in having short-term rentals in residential areas.'"
READ MORE: Short-term rental owners talk legal battles, regulations at state conference
Park Township Neighbors' attorneys also argue short-term rentals have always been allowed in the township, while township attorneys claim there is "no actual case of controversy" as short-term rental owners, they say, have not applied for zoning permits or zoning approval from the township.
"Initially, it didn't really bother me, but then we started having problems," said Joan Zeerip, a Park Township resident and a proponent of the ban.
From women sitting on a roof "with beverages" to men playing wiffle ball against a garage door to fighting couples in a front yard, she says she's concerned about the liability issues created by neighboring renters.
"How can you regulate and come up with regulations that address all the creative issues that vacationers come up with? You can't," Zeerip said. "We shouldn't have to be the ones that police those sort of things in our neighborhoods."
Judge Hulsing said he will issue a written opinion whether the court has jurisdiction in the case in a "couple" of weeks.
