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Township attorney warned family‑only ADU limits would be hard to enforce, planning commission chose broader approach
Summary
Hartland’s planner reported that the township attorney suggested restricting ADU occupancy to family, but staff and the planning commission declined the limit, citing enforcement difficulties and the goal of expanding affordable housing options.
During the ADU ordinance discussion, planner Troy Langer relayed the township attorney’s caution that limiting accessory dwelling units to family members would present enforcement challenges over time. Langer said the attorney provided language to restrict ADU occupancy to family, but "the attorney agreed that enforcement of that could be tricky without a rental, housing, program."
Langer explained why enforcement would be difficult: ownership of a home can change hands over generations, making it challenging for the township to ascertain and prove who qualifies as "family" in future cases. He said the planning commission opted not to adopt a family‑only restriction because the commission’s objective for the ADU ordinance was to expand affordable housing options rather than narrowly limit ADU use. Staff noted that enforcing any occupancy restriction likely would require an ongoing rental‑program or other administrative mechanism to monitor compliance, which the township does not currently maintain.
