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Resident urges Holland City to revisit 25-license cap on short-term rentals
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Summary
At the March 10 Planning Commission meeting, resident Wendell Garvelink and attorney Kim Katowski asked the commission to reconsider a citywide cap of 25 short-term rental certificates, saying the limit is outdated and effectively impossible to obtain; neighbors said rentals are an asset and many guests are Hope College visitors.
Wendell Garvelink, a resident of Saugatuck, told the Holland Planning Commission on March 10 that he and his family own a cottage on the city’s South Side and want to become compliant after using the property as a long-term rental.
Garvelink’s attorney, Kim Katowski, asked the commission to revisit the city’s limit on short-term rental certificates, saying city code currently allows only 25 short-term rental permissions across Holland. “There’s only 25 in the all of the city of Holland that are allowed to have short term rentals,” Katowski said, and she told commissioners the number was set many years ago and may no longer reflect current demand.
Katowski said her clients have tried to obtain one of the 25 slots without success and asked the city to consider a fairer allocation process such as a lottery or to raise the cap to reflect Holland’s growth and year-round tourism. “Maybe it needs to be revisited,” she said, noting that the cap dates back roughly 15 years and that tourism in Holland now extends beyond the busy Tulip Time festival.
Garvelink and his wife, Tracy, said neighbors have not complained about their rental activity and that the property’s improvements have been well received. “We’ve had no complaints… Neighbors think it’s an asset,” the wife said, adding that many of their guests are parents visiting Hope College students, not short-term vacation crowds.
The commission did not take immediate action on the request. After public comment closed, the chair thanked the speakers and the meeting moved on to the next agenda item; no change to the short-term rental cap was scheduled during the March 10 meeting.
