FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE
Park Township, Michigan – Park Township Neighbors (PTN) applauds Laketown Township’s recent handling of their new ban on freestanding short-term rentals, which allows existing stand-alone short-term rentals to continue operation.
In Park Township, the situation is markedly different. In March 2024, the township passed what their legal counsel described as a “clarifying ordinance”. That ordinance first added a definition of short-term rental, and then prohibited them from all residential zoning districts. Unlike Laketown, the 2024 Park Township ordinance also claims that with very few exceptions, existing short-term rentals were unlawful.
This attempt to retroactively apply the 2024 zoning ordinance to pre-existing STRs is the matter at issue in the now multiple lawsuits the township is facing. The lawsuits are being brought by property owners who relied on the township’s own decades-long interpretation that short-term rentals in Park Township were unregulated and allowed.
While Park Township has never licensed short-term rentals, township zoning administrators and other township officials had repeatedly assured homeowners that no permit was required for STRs, and that there were no regulations or restrictions regarding rentals at all.
This highlights the increasingly contrasting paths between the two communities. While Laketown’s new ordinance bans future freestanding STRs, it also honors the rights of existing property owners, acknowledging that homeowners who acted in good faith should not be penalized for following township guidance.
“This is exactly the kind of balanced policy Park Township could look to adopt,” said PTN President Jeremy Allen. “Laketown has demonstrated that it is entirely possible to protect neighborhood stability without punishing property owners who were repeatedly told they were playing by the rules in renting their homes short-term.”
PTN is calling on Park Township to follow the reasonable approach recently advanced by Laketown Township — an approach that PTN argues is both fair and essential for avoiding substantial legal and financial consequences.
By choosing the Laketown model, Park Township can put the nearly three-year legal battle to rest, reduce conflict, rebuild trust, and — critically — avoid exposing taxpayers to what has the potential to create one of the costliest legal liabilities in township history, with the possibility for a multimillion-dollar financial burden on township taxpayers.
The township has already spent considerable resources in an attempt to eliminate the few remaining short-term rentals: untold employee hours and more than $338,000 in legal fees through October 2025 alone. The legal fees continue to grow.
PTN urges township officials to immediately consider adopting an ordinance ensuring that the short-term rentals that existed in Park Township prior to the 2024 ban retain a permanent permitted-use status.
“This is not a radical proposal,” says Jeremy Allen. “It is common-sense governance that honors commitments the township made to residents for decades. Laketown has shown exactly how to do it.”
Looking north to Peninsula Township, which was sued over restrictive and unconstitutional zoning ordinances, we see a stark warning of what could happen.The years-long legal battle in Peninsula Township culminated in a nearly $50-million dollar award against the township. Peninsula Township now also faces additional lawsuits filed against it by their insurance companies. Those lawsuits argue the insurance companies are not obligated to pay for the damages awarded.
A petition presented on May 14, 2026 to the Park Township Board of Trustees and signed by 372 Park Township residents urges the board to do the right thing regarding the lawsuits it is facing: find a way to allow only those short-term rentals that were operating prior to the March 2024 ban to continue.
Residents who would like to add their name to the petition can email neighbors@parktownshipneighbors.com
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Media contact:
Jeremy Allen, neighbors@parktownshipneighbors.com
About PTN:
Park Township Neighbors (PTN) is a 501(c)(4) non-profit social welfare organization established by families, individuals, business owners, and community leaders working together to improve everyone’s experiences in Park Township. For more information, visit ParkTownshipNeighbors.com.