Last updated November 5, 2025. (This post will be updated from time to time as events unfold. The latest update is at the end.)
In November 2024, Circuit Court Judge Jon Hulsing dismissed our case. Essentially, the judge found that Park Township amending the ordinance in March of 2024 changed things.
Because the township had not issued any citations under that new zoning ordinance, the judge found that PTN had not exhausted our administrative remedies, and that he did not have jurisdiction on the remaining issues. You can read the court’s opinion here.
Because of that, the next step for PTN was to go before Park Township’s Zoning Board of Appeals (the ZBA) as a group. We filed our application with the township in December 2024.
Our application was NOT related to whether or not short-term rentals would be made legal in Park Township, and it was NOT a variance request.
New short-term rentals are not allowed in Park Township, and PTN is not challenging that.
Instead, our application asked for an interpretation of the 1974 Zoning Ordinance as it stood in the past: both prior to the recent amendments related to short-term rentals, and as it stood from 1963 until 1974.
Update #1: Our Zoning Board of Appeals hearing was set for March 31st, 2025.
Update #2: The Zoning Board of Appeals hearing, which was originally set for just March 31st, 2025, took place in two parts. The first part of that hearing lasted approximately 4 hours, with a lengthy public comment period that included testimony from many short-term rental owners. The second part of the hearing took place on April 21, 2025.
The ZBA subsequently issued a written decision. You can read the ZBA’s decision here, but in essence (and with some caveats that are not detailed here) they ruled that:
- from 1963 until February 6, 1974, the zoning ordinance permitted the use of dwellings as short-term rentals in at least one of the residential zoning districts (Residence District B)
- The Township’s Zoning Ordinance adopted in 1974, which has remained in effect from February 7, 1974 to present, did not and does not allow STRs in any of the residential zoning districts
- the ZBA did not have the jurisdiction or authority to decide whether the Township should be estopped from enforcing the Zoning Ordinance, as interpreted by the Zoning Board of Appeals
- the ZBA did not have the jurisdiction or authority to determine whether the Zoning Ordinance was unconstitutionally vague
Update #3: The members of PTN involved in the ZBA appeal have since appealed the ZBA’s decisions to the Circuit Court. The township tried to have that appeal thrown out of Circuit Court, and the township’s motion was denied on August 1, 2025. The Circuit Court appeal of the ZBA’s decision is currently making its way through the legal process, and is expected to take several more months.
Update #4: On November 4, 2025, Judge Hulsing issued his written decision for our October 23 Circuit Court hearing for the appeal of the ZBA decision. Unfortunately, the ZBA was affirmed in all aspects.You can read his decision here.
In light of this decision, the PTN Board will discuss the best approach moving forward with our attorney. We remain committed to achieving favorable resolution of this issue and will provide updates to members as they become available.