By James Windell
Amidst an inability to pass a revised short term rental ordinance, something that has been in discussion for at least two years, the South Haven City Council approved a six-month morato-rium on the issue.
Both residents speaking at the December 2, 2024 City Council meeting and City Council members voiced their frustration at the slowness of the procedure to pass a new Short Term Rental (STR) ordinance.
“I don’t want our dysfunction to hinder the city any further,” said councilman Jeff Ar-nold, representing Ward 2, who said he was voting against extending the current moratorium for another six months.
The City Council discussed two issues during the meeting. One was City Attorney Cliff Bloom’s Memorandum requesting clarification from a motion passed at the November 18, 2024, City Council Meeting. At that meeting, the council approved a motion proposed by Ward 1 Council Member Joe Reeser that the City Council direct the City Manager to direct legal counsel to provide by December 2, 2024, or at a mutually agreeable alternate date amendments to the STR Zoning Ordinance where all future registrations are issued under only a regulatory ordi-nance, a cap is set at 534 with all STR registrations counting toward that cap, overlay districts are proposed, and a density is addressed for at least R1-A and R1-B zoning districts.
Attorney Bloom wanted more information about this motion and to learn more about what the City Council thought the next step should be. Speaking to this issue, City Manager Kate Hosier stated, “We want to have a good idea as to what the Council wants us to do.”
It is not clear that the Council actually provided clarification. However, the Council did vote on Resolution 2024-47, which would place a moratorium on the city’s ability to accept any new applications or to process any new STR personal units. The Resolution would not apply to any STRs that have already received registration approval and have been in effect since June1, 2024.
During discussion before a vote on the Resolution, Mayor Annie Brown commented that “None of us were elected to pass a moratorium.” George Sleeper, the Councilman from Ward 3, added, “I’m not in favor of the moratorium. As City Council, we should have been able to get this done.”
Reeser, responding to Arnold’s characterization of imposing a new moratorium, said: “I don’t call it dysfunction or that we are failing in any way. What we are trying to do is to make the best possible STR ordinance for personal and for businesses and if that means a moratorium to make this right I would rather have that.”
Reeser noted that he has been on the City Council for the last six years as the Council has wrestled with STRs. “I think we are getting close, and I think it’s better now than it would have been six months ago. At the finish line, we don’t want to hesitate and not take the moratorium and make this better than ever.”
The Resolution approving a moratorium was passed by a vote of 4 to 3.
