City Council

MANISTEE CITY COUNCIL WORK SESSION MINUTES OF OCTOBER 13, 2020 The Manistee City Council met in a work session on Tuesday, October 13, 2020 at 7:00 pm, Ramsdell Theatre, 101 Maple Street, Manistee, Michigan 49660. MEMBERS PRESENT: Dale Cooper, Lynda Beaton, Roger Zielinski, Jermaine Cipcic, Michael Szymanski, James Grabowski, and Erin Martin‐Pontiac MEMBERS ABSENT: None ALSO PRESENT: City Manager, Department Directors, Public, and Media Public Comments: Kathryn Kenny, 409 Cypress Street‐ Executive Director of the Manistee County Visitors Bureau / spoke in support of Short‐Term rentals in the City of Manistee; supports reasonable regulations but does not approve of limiting the number of Short‐Term rentals allowed in the City. Colleen Kenny, 586 Eighth Street – representative of the Manistee County Humane Society / expressed concern with banning pet sales in the City and what types of sales it would prohibit. Marty Spaulding, 255 River Street / spoke against limiting Short‐Term rentals in the commercial district; encourages exempting commercial zone and peninsula district from potential limitation. Madelyn Fitzsimmons, 307 Second Avenue / spoke in favor of Short‐Term rentals in the City. Todd Lloyd 556 First Street / spoke against limiting Short‐Term rentals in the City. Jeff Bowers, 4423 W. Shingle Mill Way / spoke in favor of Short‐Term rentals in the City; agrees with registration but not limiting the number of rentals allowed. Karen Vahling, 4423 W. Shingle Mill Way / spoke in support of Short‐Term rentals in the City and does not agree with limiting the number permitted. Ed Horne, 427 Fifth Street / spoke in favor of allowing Short‐Term rentals in the City and does not support a lottery for licenses. Barry Lind, 532 4th Street / offered support of Short‐Term rentals in the City and expressed concerns with limiting the number allowed. Tim Riley, Rental Manager for Century 21 Boardwalk / stated they manage multiple Short‐Term rental properties in the City that are all inspected, certified, and paying lodging taxes; offered to Council Work Session – October 13, 2020 Page 1 answer any questions regarding their process and experience with the rentals. Cheryl Solberg 2028 Kemmer Road / owns a cleaning business and has cleaned rental properties for years; spoke against limiting the number of Short‐Term rentals in the City. DISCUSSION ON BANNING RETAIL PET SALES IN THE CITY – Shannon Wood, Director of Repo’s Rescues was not in attendance; no discussion ensued. DISCUSSION ON SHORT‐TERM RENTAL RECOMMENDATIONS FROM THE PLANNING COMMISSION – Mike Szokola, Manistee County Assistant Planner led the discussion on Short‐ Term rentals (STR) and reviewed the recommendations from the Planning Commission. The Planning Commission referred the Ludington Short‐Term rental ordinance to City Council to use as a baseline in development of a STR ordinance for the City of Manistee. Recommendations from the Planning Commission include:  Place the STR ordinance within CHAPTER 1482: Residential Rental Properties, Codified Ordinance  Place limitation on the number of Short‐Term rentals allowed  Ensure properties are managed locally by a professional or owner‐occupied property manager Discussion included:  STR popularity  Allow Condo Associations to decide if they allow STR  Licensing and Procedural Criteria  Examples of limits on STR licenses o Number allowed in the City o Number allowed on a City block o Number allowed per individual  Licensing pool/lottery  Signage  Violations – three strikes and license revoked  Complaints should be in writing and signed  Exempt Commercial District/DDA from limitation on the number of STR allowed  Limit length of time for a STR; at end of limit owner must sell, convert to fulltime rental, or occupy  STR profitable during peak season  Desirable housing is hard to find  Benefits/Risks of limiting STR  Regulations needed for all rentals both Long‐Term and Short‐term  Quality, health, and safety regulations and compliance  Registration fees  Significant increase in STR over the past year  STR management  Current STR operating but not complying with rental registration program need to be Council Work Session – October 13, 2020 Page 2  brought to compliance  Need for balance with Long‐Term and Short‐Term rentals; cannot forget about our fulltime residents  Difficulty in determining the limit to place on STR CONSENSUS: Council directed staff to draft a proposed ordinance based on input received to bring back to Council for future consideration. Adjourned at 8:31pm. Respectfully submitted, Heather Pefley MiPMC/CMC City Clerk Council Work Session – October 13, 2020 Page 3