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Sterling Heights staff to study short-term rental policy after neighbors report repeated nuisance calls
Summary
City staff estimated 70–100 short-term rental listings and outlined two options: enforce the current prohibition or adopt a licensing/inspection ordinance; administration will return with a formal report in 60–90 days.
Assistant City Manager Dale Jawadzikowski told the Sterling Heights City Council that short-term residential rentals are not expressly permitted under current residential zoning and that the city’s best estimate is between 70 and 100 listings advertised on commercial platforms.
Jawadzikowski described enforcement challenges, citing recurring police calls for loud parties, parking conflicts and other disturbances at one property he called a neighborhood nuisance. He said the city sent the owner a cease-and-desist letter after multiple responses by police and coordination with another agency to locate a wanted person at the rental.
City Planner Dr. Jake Parcel reviewed regulatory approaches other Michigan cities use, offering three options: continue to prohibit STRs in residential zones and enforce nuisance laws; adopt targeted licensing with inspections, occupancy limits and owner-residency requirements; or allow limited STRs in mixed‑use or multifamily nodes while restricting single‑family neighborhoods.
Parcel cited examples: Grand Rapids permits limited licenses and bans whole‑home rentals in single‑family zones; Ann Arbor charges an annual fee and requires fire inspections for non‑owner-occupied units; Detroit limits short‑term renting to 90 days per year and requires licensing, insurance and occupancy curfews in some cases.
Council members asked about grandfathering, how to find and register existing listings, and whether enforcement would fall to police or code officers. Planner and legal staff said a licensing approach would include online canvassing to identify listings, written notices to owners, and required fire and safety inspections; owners operating without a license could be shut down. The administration recommended a “simple and direct” regulatory framework if licensing is chosen.
Mayor Taylor and staff committed to returning to council within 60–90 days with a report that formalizes the two primary options: continue prohibitions and ramp up nuisance enforcement, or adopt a licensing ordinance with inspections and explicit operating rules.
