Short-term rental owners represented by Park Township Neighbors, a 501c4 non-profit, allege that the township improperly amended its ordinances in 2022 and 2023. The township again amended the ordinance earlier this year to expressly state STR’s are prohibited in residential areas.
Circuit Court Judge Jon Hulsing dismissed the lawsuit, saying the court had no jurisdiction over the case because the latest amendments were properly passed.
Park Township Neighbors President Jeremy Allen says STR owners have been operating rentals for decades because the township’s 1974 zoning ordinance did not explicitly prohibit them.
“I’m disappointed that the township is taking a direction to try and revise 50 years of precedent, 50 years of history, and say that a few hundred homes that rent short-term legal like mine and my wife’s are illegal.”
Now, STR owners must plead their case to the township’s zoning board of appeals as a means of exhausting all their options before they can return to court.
In a statement, township manager Howard Fink said, “This decision protects the family-friendly, residential character of our neighborhoods. The court’s ruling clarifies this issue for the community going forward.”
