Island Officials Reserve Right To Examine Condo Rental Books
By Karen Gould

Restrictions placed on the 2006 business license that was issued to Sunset Condominiums, Inc. of Mackinac Island will allow the city to examine rental books at any time. City Council approved the new license with the codicil Wednesday, April 26, one week after revoking the company's 2005 license because of previous renting violations.

"It's a matter of occupant safety," said city attorney Tom Evashevski.

The property management company, which is owned by Dennis and Jeanie Reimer, administers vacation rental programs for property owners. The city has documents proving rental violations, which the company has acknowledged. The company also agreed to the new license restrictions.

"The agreement provides us with the ability to look at their rental records to assure they are not renting in violation of the ordinance," added Mr. Evashevski.

Sunset Condominiums was booking short-term rentals for less than 30 days in a structure that could not be licensed as a hotel and that is in violation of zoning and building codes, Mr. Evashevski explained.

"We have been very concerned about these types of violations for a number of years, but we've never been able to get proof so we could act on them," explained Mr. Evashevski.

A disgruntled former employee alerted the city that the company was violating Island regulations by renting houses on a weekly basis and provided copies of rental records to allow Mr. Evashevski to move forward with the revocation process of the 2005 business license.

When confronted, the company owners acknowledged that violations have occurred and agreed to the revocation of their 2005 business license. They also agreed to have conditions placed on the new business license that are designed to monitor and make sure no similar violation occurs in the future, said Mr. Evashevski.

The City of Mackinac Island is concerned over renting violations because it is a serious violation of zoning and building codes, explained Mr. Evashevski.

The zoning ordinance that clarifies the violation states that "a rental period of less than 30 days shall be considered a hotel usage."

With zoning codes, renting a house in a residentially zoned single-family (R-1) district for a week or two at a time is a problem because the important aspect of a R-1 district is the stability of the occupants, he said. In a R-1 district, people know their neighbors and with those homes becoming shortterm rentals, it changes the character of the neighborhood, he added.

Residential homes are not built with the intention of being used short-term, he noted. A short-term occupancy building requires the fire protection, stronger building materials, and construction requirements of a hotel.

Household residents are familiar with their surroundings and know how to get out in case of an emergency, he said, while short-term renters don't. Lit exit signs, posted floor plans, fire walls and stairway fire doors are required in a hotel, but not a home.