Short Term Rentals

The board has received a complaint from several homeowners regarding short-term rentals in the association.

Below is a summary of the issue, the current actions of the board, and a link to a form where you can submit your thoughts. Do note, we will update this page with our findings/a summary of the responses.

 

Short-term rentals are a complex issue, as the Association bylaws do not explicitly prohibit this, although they do state “No lot shall be used except for residential purposes”. For some guidance, the board reached out to the Association lawyer to provide some legal analysis of the existing bylaw language and how different courts have handled similar complaints.

The board also checked with the township, as some of the bylaws reflect township ordinances. Georgetown Township does have some rules around this, which the board was able to confirm verbally with the zoning chair. Currently, any rental under 30 days must comply with the ordinance regarding a Bed & Breakfast. Any rentals 30 days or longer do not have any restriction according to the zoning commission.

Township zoning ordinance rules were communicated to the homeowner in question, and they are now currently in compliance having increased the minimum stay length on the AirBnB listing to 30 days.

We have had a few homeowners share some opinions on the matter with the board during a recent board meeting. We would like to also open up communication with other Association members and gather additional insight to gauge the general feeling within the neighborhood.

The goal is to consider how to best handle this issue moving forward. We want to keep the neighborhood family-oriented, while also considering the fact that life situations arise where certain restrictions may cause undue hardship.

A previous board had drawn up a possible amendment to the bylaws. The board is open to creating a new proposed ammendment, but we would need a 2/3 consensus among all Association members to be able to officially adopt any such changes.

Here are links to the referenced documents:

As this is a sensitive issue, we are also requesting input from as many homeowners as possible. Please carefully read this page and all linked documents. Take some time and thoughtfully consider the issue, then submit your thoughts using the link below. We ask that all submissions are made by January 1 so the board has time to review them before the January meeting (likely mid-month).