City To Seek Court Injunction Against Rent Violators
By Karen Gould

Filing lawsuits in circuit court against residents violating the Mackinac Island's rental ordinance is a move the Ordinance Committee hopes will end the practice by some property owners who are renting out homes for less than 30 days. Doing so is a violation of both the city's zoning and building codes. The Ordinance Committee also decided, during its Wednesday, September 6, meeting to update the barn ordinance and to standardize street signs.

City attorney Tom Evashevski will seek a court injunction to restrain property owners from renting their homes for less than 30 days. If they fail to adhere to the injunction, they could face contempt of court charges and then may have to pay damages or face sanctions for failing to follow the court's orders. The injunction also would give the city subpoena power to get the evidence needed to prove violations. With the subpoena, the city could obtain rental records.

By pursuing a civil action, there would be a $500 fine and, if the property owners violate the injunction, they could be charged with criminal contempt, explained Mr. Evashevski.

"It just makes enforcement so much easier if we can do it within the context of a civil suit," he said. "We have people who live in residential areas right now [who are] really mad about this."

Committee Chairman Mike Hart added that residents have complained that weekend renters in their neighborhoods makes them worry about the safety of their children.

"There are people raising complaints," he said. "There are people whose property values are affected, whose way of life has deteriorated because of it." he said.

He also noted that illegal short-term rentals are getting cooperation from the Mackinac Island Tourism Bureau, which advertises the units in direct competition with its other members.

"They're advertising and supporting this subversion of their own interest," he said.

Mr. Evashevski said some violators don't have business licenses and some citizens who have come forward to complain about the violations have been unwilling to testify, or are ineligible to testify because they don't have first-hand knowledge of the violations.

The city restricts short-term rentals in single-family residential neighborhoods to protect the residential quality of life against transient dwellers and because most condominiums, apartments, and private homes do not meet the stringent fire and safety codes enforced on hotels.

Renting the property nightly or by the week is a zoning violation with homes being operated as a hotel in a district that's not zoned for it. The zoning ordinance that clarifies the violation states that "A rental period of less than 30 days shall be considered a hotel usage."

"It's a matter of health, safety, and welfare," said Mayor Margaret Doud.

For zoning codes, renting a house in a single-family (R-1) district for less than 30 days posses a problem because the stability of the occupants is a significant advantage of a R-1 district, Mr. Evashevski said. People know their neighbors and, with these homes becoming short term rentals, it changes the character of the neighborhood, he added.

Short-term renters are not familiar with their surroundings and don't know how to get out in case of an emergency, while hotels are required to have lit exit signs, posted floor plans, and fire walls and stairway fire doors, none of which is required in a home.

Faced with a similar situation last year, the city placed restrictions on the 2006 business license issued to Sunset Condominiums, Inc. of Mackinac Island. In this case, the city had documents proving rental violations, provided by a disgruntled employee. The restriction on their business license gave the city the right to examine Sunset Condominium's rental books at any time.

Without documents to prove violations, Mr. Evashevski proposed the city take a different route and suggested the civil action to committee members during Wednesday's meeting, and they agreed.

The committee also directed city building inspector Dennis Dombroski and Mr. Evashevski to draft an update to the barn ordinance. They are considering three categories of barns, including a private barn, a boarding stable with no more than six stalls, and a commercial barn. The committee also discussed the possibility of changing the distance a barn should be from a residence to

the distance a barn should be to the property line. Members agreed that, under the existing ordinance, someone building on an adjacent lot could impact their neighbor's rights for a barn. The ordinance also will address fence heights.

The committee also asked Mr. Evashevski to draft an ordinance to make street signs uniform throughout the city, including subdivisions, to reduce confusion about what to look for when looking for street names. The city is still in the process of installing street signs so that the community complies with the rest of Mackinac County's enhanced 9-1-1 emergency telephone system.