A six-month moratorium has been placed on new short term rentals in South Haven while the city council continues working on new zoning rules to govern the properties.
At a meeting this week, council members talked at length about occupancy and time limits on STRs. They’re also looking to place a cap on how many are allowed in the city. The council then voted to send the new zoning rules to the South Haven Planning Commission for its review.
Attorney Cliff Bloom talked about the process.
“This is the city council’s recommendation of the planning commission,” Bloom said. “The planning commission will have to schedule it eventually for a public hearing. They’ll make the recommendations, it’ll come back to you. Now that this has been moved to the planning commission, we will take the existing STR licensing regulations together with some suggested changes that were made a year, a year and a half ago, and put together that package.”
The moratorium passed as the council has deemed the STR issue an emergency and that it is “immediately necessary for the public peace, public health, public safety and welfare of the residents, property owners and visitors of and to the city.”
The council will further discuss the zoning rules after getting input from the planning commission.
