Here’s the Proof
Realizing many Park Township residents may have heard about the lawsuit our group brought against Park Township last October, we believe it’s important to share the facts we have learned during the last year.
The limited evidence we presented for our preliminary injunction last year showed a strong likelihood that the township would lose this lawsuit and PTN would prevail. Now, almost a year later and after having reviewed tens of thousands of documents the township was required to provide, along with deposing a dozen current and former township representatives, the facts are even clearer.
For decades, the township assured property owners that there were no regulations preventing short-term rentals and that existing rentals would be grandfathered if regulations changed.
Below are a few of the many compelling pieces of evidence where township representatives have said just those things, in writing.
The evidence is clear: Short-term rentals have always been permitted
The sampling of recent email responses are from former Park Township zoning administrators, code enforcement officers, and community development directors. The names and contact info of people who emailed to inquire have been redacted by PTN. For ease of reading, emails have been placed in chronological order.
July 2018 emails
July 2018 emails, with a community development director responding:
July 2019 emails
July 2019 emails, with a code enforcement officer responding:
November 2019 email
A November 2019 email, with a zoning administrator responding:
October 2020 email
An October 2020 email, with a zoning administrator responding:
December 2021 response
The following from the end of 2021 is a reply to a lengthy email that contained photos and complaints about multiple properties. Regarding a short term rental, that email asked, “Is this legal in a residential neighborhood?”
Here’s that December 2021 response from a former code enforcement officer:
It’s reasonable to rely upon what your township representatives tell you regarding zoning ordinances. Particularly when those representatives are zoning administrators, code enforcement officers, community development directors, and more.
Property owners contacted the exact people in charge of enforcing and interpreting Park Township’s zoning laws, and their words matched the ordinances.
Which is why short-term rental property owners believed them when assured there were no rental regulations or restrictions, and that they would just need to comply with the other zoning ordinances.
The words of those township representatives consistently and repeatedly show they believed short-term rentals were legal.
We believe Park Township should honor their word and grandfather in the short term rentals that existed prior to the new March 2024 ordinances.
It’s a matter of integrity.
If you agree, call or email the township
If you agree that the small number of pre-existing short term rentals should be grandfathered in, call 616-399-4520 or email board@parktownship.org today to let them know you want them to settle the short-term rental lawsuit.
Resources
This website includes a large number of resources to help members of the community better understand this issue. Below we have provided some key links to answer the most frequently asked questions.
- How can I learn more about details of the lawsuit with Park Township?
- What are PTN’s goals and do they believe short-term rentals should be regulated?
- How does the local community really feel about short term rentals?
- How many complaints have been filed regarding short-term rentals?
- Do most people want a short-term rental ban?
- What could the economic impact be if short-term rentals are banned?
Have other questions?
Email us at neighbors@parktownshipneighbors.com. You can also find more information on our Blog as well as our News page which includes the full list of press releases issued by PTN and media coverage of vacation rentals in Park Township.
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