The Columbia Township board decided tonight (Mon 11/18) to abandon a proposed ordinance that would restrict short term rentals (30 days or less) at Clark Lake and other locations in Columbia Charter Township. The idea had been discussed during several previous monthly board meetings. At those meetings, neighbors upset with rentals near them had asked for relief from the Township. At the same time, those who own short term rentals argued against restrictions.
At the beginning of Township meetings, speakers can offer their opinion to the board for three minutes each. At tonight’s meeting, eight took advantage of the opportunity. All but one speaker opposed restrictions. Of those who opposed, most had a vested interest in the law being defeated as they own rental properties.
Later in the meeting, the ordinance was on the agenda for discussion among board members. Brittany Stein, Township Building/Planning/Zoning Manager, along with Township attorney Eric White, had been tasked with developing the proposed ordinance. Taking the podium, she went through a list of recommendations that would soften some of the stipulations in the draft, and answered questions from trustees.
Not far into the discussion, Trustee Brent Beamish registered his opinion that the ordinance was unnecessary and the idea should be dropped.
As they asked questions, other board members also aired their doubts. The discussion ended when Supervisor Barry Marsh asked for a board consensus as to whether the ordinance should be revised for future consideration or dropped immediately. The board’s decision was to drop it.
Click here to view the draft of the proposed ordinance on the Columbia Charter Township website.
In covering the meeting, this website recorded video of speakers who gave their opinions at the beginning of the meeting. If there is sufficient interest, those videos could be part of a subsequent story.
