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Grand Beach Village Council discusses Ellen Frankle resignation, short-term rental regulations PAGES
from June 24, 2021
Grand Beach Village Council discusses Ellen Frankle resignation, short-term rental regulations
BY FRANCESCA SAGALA
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Members of the Grand Beach Village Council heard of the resignation of Ellen Frankle, who was just elected to the council in April, at their Wednesday, June 16, meeting.
Frankle was elected by the council to fill the seat left empty by former councilmember Steve Slater.
Councilmembers voted 1-3 on Frankle’s resignation, with Blake O’Halloran voting “yes.”
Council president Deborah Lindley expressed regret over Frankle’s resignation.
She said her “high moral standards” and “knowledge of the village” made her an “outstanding candidate.”
Lindley said that the council will have a new candidate, who will be appointed to a term ending November 2022, at the July meeting.
Councilmembers discussed short-term rentals in the village.
Village Attorney Sara Senica said that the village technically doesn’t allow short-term rentals, as the zoning ordinance states single family dwellings are an allowed use or double family dwellings or two-family dwellings, like a duplex - not “different families in and out every week or every 10 days.”
“The primary use has to be a family, or two families in the case of a duplex, living together in a permanent relationship upon the property,” she said.
Senica said the village doesn’t currently have the enforcement mechanisms to have police officers driving around looking at driveways to see whose car is at a house or if there are there are different cars there. While the ordinance technically doesn’t allow short-term rentals, it may not be known if they’re operating in the village unless there are complaints.
Senica said the village could make short-term rentals a special use in residential neighborhoods, so there’d have to be a manager on duty 24/7 who could be called if there would be a problem. She said that really good short-term rental managers have “excellent contracts,” where people have to sign where they’re liable, they have to put huge deposits down if there’s any damage - there’s a “lot of steps really good managers go through to make sure these properties don’t raise alarms and people don’t have to call the police.” “If we did allow shortterm rentals through a special use process, we’d be able to monitor that and be able to put those safeguards in place,” Senica said. Senica added that the village would also “be justified” in considering how many short-term rentals it wants in the village and if it wants 20 percent of the village to be rentals – something that would give the village a “very different character.”
Last meeting, councilmembers approved a resolution opposing Michigan House Bill 4722 and Senate Bill 446 (which were pending in the Michigan Legislature as of June 16).
The two bills state that short-term rentals aren’t commercial but are a residential use. Per the bills, Senica said that “every home in the state can be used as a rental,” and the village wouldn’t be allowed to put any rules or regulations in place if they were to pass. This would mean the village wouldn’t be able to require a manager or to do special inspections on the short-term rentals.
The only remedy mentioned in the bills if there’s a problem with a shortterm rental is to call the police.
Senica added that the bills are “really a disaster” for people who want to do rentals the “right way.” The bills state that one can’t do any regulations on a short-term rental unless everyone is regulated. The council would have to pass an ordinance requiring every home in the village to have a twenty-four seven manager on call if anything goes wrong, she said.
“You as a local council and local citizens getting together and having meetings and talking about this can solves these issues 100 times better than the state when they’re comparing you to Detroit and Flint – we have very different needs,” she said.
Councilmember James Bracewell said that the village has a special land use resolution in place. The village has been “accumulating complaints” on certain addresses and is getting closer to having an SLU hearing.
Councilmember Blake O’Halloran said that “everything that could for a rental, is the same thing that could happen for a summer resident,” such as big parties.
“I don’t care if it’s a summer resident, a full-time resident or a rental…You’re going to call the police and tell them, you’re breaking the noise ordinance - that’s what we have always done and that’s what we will always continue to do,” he said.
O’Halloran said that state Rep. Brad Paquette (R-Niles), one of the sponsors on the House bill, has introduced a substitute that would “fundamentally change the bill to give local governments more power over short-term rentals.” Reading from a letter from Paquette, he said he would “prevent municipal governments from banning rentals through zoning and provide a definition of short-term rentals but it would allow them to do anything
and everything else, so municipal governments would have total control of regulations, but they wouldn’t be able to tell someone they can’t rent.” “Anyone who wants to rent (in Grand Beach) can rent and they do… State government’s not trying to take over, what they’re trying to do is get it right and that is to keep the rights of residents to be able to rent if they want to,” he said. Senica said that, as of June 16, no changes have been submitted yet to either bill, adding that Paquette’s name is still listed as a sponsor of the original House bill. Village Attorney Sara Senica said that the village technically doesn’t allow short-term rentals, as the zoning ordinance states single family dwellings are an allowed use or double family dwellings or twofamily dwellings, like a duplex - not “different families Councilmember Paul Leonard said that the issue with short-term rentals is “a local issue and it should be dealt with by the local authorities.” “As a matter of principle, never will I agree to the state of Michigan taking authority away from the local council to regulate,” he said. Senica said the village could do an ordinance fashioned after what New Buffalo has done as well as Michiana; however, she cautioned that, if either of the pending bills were to pass, they would “override” whatever they’d put into creating one. in and out every week or every 10 days.” Senica said that she thinks the council and Planning Commission should begin working on if they “want to push all the people who want to rent into a special use permit or do we want to have an ordinance that regulates across the board with rentals, where every rental will have to follow that procedure” such as registering with the village. “If you’re doing it right and you have a property management company, you’re probably following all the rules we put in place already...but it would bring those who are causing trouble into that same fold with people who are doing it right,” she said.
GRAND BEACH cont’d from page 6
Councilmembers discussed the ongoing issue with trash can regulations.
Lindley said that the village has a five-year contract with Able Disposal, which gave the village a negotiated price due to some residents in the village being part-time. The village currently pays $4,505 per month or $54,048 a year. Able currently offers a back door service for individuals in the village and charges $25 for trash and $25 for recycling pickup. Able takes the cans, empties them, and returns them to the home 15 feet off the road. Superintendent Bob Dabbs has been keeping track of the trash cans he pulls back so it’s known “how many homeowners that we’re going to have to probably deal with as far as making some kind of program where they can get their trash cans.” As more data is collected, the village will be able to make a more accurate decision on next steps. She proposed that the village keep collecting data through July and the council can make a final decision in August. Dabbs was able to get a high school student to pull back the cans, who’s paid $15 an hour. The village has set aside $10,000 in its budget for beach cleanup and can use that and any extra in the village’s maintenance budget to pay the employee, so the village will be able to finance pulling back the cans this summer. If Able were to do a back door service for the whole village (Lindley assumes it would just be a pull-back service), cans would be pulled back 15 feet from the road and $16.50 a month would be added to everyone’s bill. If the village were to do this, it would be $89,000 a year, although she thinks it can be done for much cheaper. Among the factors that would “If you’re doing it right and you have a need to be considered for a trash can program would be the charge for services, and Lindley said that data will determine the cost if everyone were to be charged. For those who don’t comply, an ordinance will need to be made instead of a resolution for GRAND BEACH cont’d on page 7trash can regulations so fines can be collected.
Councilmembers approved a weed control grass cutting ordinance.
Lindley said the ordinance will allow the village to “clean and fine those homeowners that do not take care of their property and we can mow it and make sure it’s wellkept and then charge them for this service.”
The ordinance states the cost for cutting/removal, grading, and/or destruction will include 10 percent for supervision, administration fees and overhead, which “shall become a debt to the village from the owner of such land, and the amount assessed, together with all charges thereon, shall become a lien on the land assessed of the same character and effect as the lien created by general law for taxes, until paid.”
Councilmembers authorized the submission of the storm water ordinance as redrafted to EGLE for review.
Leonard, streets commissioner, said that it “simply complies with the current wording and nomenclature that EGLE wants us to have in our ordinance.”
Councilmembers approved making a purchase not to exceed $5,000 on a 2017 club car for a precedent Lan Cam. If it doesn’t have a windshield and cover, the council will go with Carts On 12 at $4,795 for a 2013 club car precedent.
O’Halloran said that a 2002 golf cart was involved in an electrical fire and needs to be replaced.
Due to being required to resume in-person meetings next month, councilmembers agreed to spend $450 on a television so that they could hold hybrid meetings (the council was using one from the Village of Michiana that night, so they could do a test run of the hybrid format).
Councilmembers approved spending up to $9,000 for the Walnut Beach Stairs. The U.S. Department of Labor today announced the award of more than $130 million in grants to develop, modernize and diversify Registered Apprenticeship Programs in 15 states and to establish Registered Apprenticeship Technical Assistance Centers of Excellence in three states and Washington, D.C., to provide technical expertise and services and accelerate the expansion of Registered Apprenticeship programs.
The department’s Employment and Training Administration awarded more than $99 million in State Apprenticeship Expansion, Equity and Innovation grants – ranging from $2 million to $10 million – to bolster states’ efforts to expand programming and inclusive recruitment strategies to attract a diverse workforce. The awards include more than $85 million for states that demonstrated a commitment to increase their diversity, equity and inclusion efforts. These grants also aim to develop partnerships with new industries and non-traditional occupations, including industry sectors hardest hit by the pandemic, and align Registered Apprenticeships with other work-based learning opportunities within state education and workforce systems,
“Today’s announcement reflects the Department of Labor’s renewed commitment to expanding Registered Apprenticeship to train U.S. workers and ensure that diversity and inclusion are core elements of our nation’s post-pandemic economic recovery,” said Secretary of Labor Marty Walsh. “Using Registered Apprenticeships to expand career opportunities for all workers, especially those in underrepresented populations, is a priority for the department and a critical component of the Biden-Harris administration’s American Jobs Plan.”
To facilitate expansion of Registered Apprenticeship programs, the department also awarded nearly $31 million through cooperative agreements to establish four Registered Apprenticeship Technical Assistance Centers of Excellence to provide technical assistance to apprenticeship programs and their enrolled trainees. Located in key areas, the RA-TA Centers of Excellence will seek to create successful and inclusive talent pipelines that meet the needs of today’s industries, workers and communities. Centers of Excellence will provide technical assistance to employers and industry to build out model-registered apprenticeship programs across a range of industries and jobs, including those in America’s critical supply chains.
The centers will also work across public and private sector partners to expand opportunities in Registered Apprenticeship for women, youth, people of color, rural communities, justice-involved individuals and people with disabilities.
Learn more about the department’s efforts to connect career seekers with apprenticeship opportunities. — STAFF
