Homeowners' short-term rental practices deemed invalid

In Christians v Twp of Clark, No. 327519, 2016 WL 6138667 (Mich Ct App October 20, 2016) the Michigan Court of Appeals upheld a zoning board decision denying homeowners a special use permit for resort activities on their lakefront lot, because the zoning ordinance in question allowed special use permits only for expanding existing resorts, and the homeowners' property was not an existing resort.

Prior to suit, the homeowners were offering two residential structures on their property as "short-term rentals" in an area zoned for "single family residential" use. The township in issue investigated the homeowners' rental practices, exposing the misuse.

The Court of Appeals, when rejecting the homeowners' use, notably wrote, "the presence of two unassociated families constitutes no extension of single-family living, but rather a plain departure from it."