Fruitland Township

Short answer: nowhere by right in residential districts. Article II of the Fruitland Township Zoning Ordinance defines “Residential” use to exclude any rental of a dwelling for fewer than 30 consecutive days, and classifies such rentals as “Commercial” uses.^[2] The Rural Residential (RR), Low Density Residential (LDR), Medium Density Residential (MDR), Medium-High Density Residential (MHDR), and High Density Residential (HDR) districts each list only residential dwellings and a short set of accessory uses (home occupations, family child care, accessory buildings) as “Uses Permitted by Right.”^[7][8] Commercial transient lodging is not on those lists.

The only transient-guest use the residential districts contemplate at all is a Bed and Breakfast establishment, which is allowed only with a Planning Commission Special Land Use permit and carries an owner-occupancy requirement (see the “Bed-and-Breakfast Alternative” accordion below).^[3] The Neighborhood Commercial (NC), Waterfront Marine (WM), and Amusement Park (AP) districts allow some commercial uses but the zoning ordinance does not list standalone short-term vacation rentals as a permitted use in those districts either.

Because the zoning text is unambiguous on the 30-day threshold but is silent on a separately permitted “short-term rental” use, investors should confirm any specific parcel and any planned operating model directly with the Zoning Administrator before purchase.

If you want to host paying overnight guests in a residential district, the legal path is a bed-and-breakfast special-land-use permit, not a short-term rental. Section 14.04(C) of Article XIV sets the binding requirements:^[3]

• The dwelling must be a single-family home with direct access to a paved public road, serviced by approved water and waste-treatment systems.
• The operator’s principal residence must be in the establishment — a non-owner-occupied operation does not qualify.
• Maximum of five (5) guest rooms.
• Each guest is defined as a person who rents a room “for fewer than thirty (30) consecutive days.”
• Breakfast may be served only to the operator’s family, employees, and overnight guests; gift shops, restaurants, and other accessory retail uses are prohibited.
• The lot must meet the underlying district’s minimum lot-size and setback rules; one ground sign up to 16 sq ft is allowed.

B&B applications go through the Special Land Use process in Section 14.01-14.03: application at least 30 days before the Planning Commission hearing, public notice, general-standards review, and possible additional conditions imposed by the Commission.^[3]

Fruitland Township does not operate a standalone short-term-rental registration portal. Because the zoning ordinance does not list STR as a permitted use in residential districts, there is no “STR permit” line item to apply for. Investors evaluating a property should expect one of two paths:

1. Long-term rental (30+ days) — treated as a residential use, no township-level rental registration required. See the LTR tab.
2. Owner-occupied Bed-and-Breakfast — submit a Zoning Application plus the Special Land Use materials to the Planning Commission at least 30 days before the next meeting.^[3] Application form is the standard Zoning Application; pair it with a site plan that addresses the Article XIV.04(C) criteria.

If you want to test a third path (for example, an existing legal-nonconforming use, or a commercial-district property), put the request in writing to the Zoning Administrator before closing. The Township Hall is open Monday-Thursday 7:30 a.m.-4:30 p.m.^[1]

STR-specific fees do not exist because the township does not permit STRs as a standalone use. The fees you will actually encounter are:

• Special Land Use / Zoning Application fees — set in the township’s Amended Fee, Permit and Escrow Schedule (Resolution 2025-08, effective April 2025). The schedule covers application fees, escrow for outside review, and re-inspection charges.^[9]
• Building, electrical, mechanical, and plumbing permit fees — set in Article R-41 and the same fee schedule. These apply to any habitability work required to bring a property to code before letting it.^[10]
• Civil-infraction penalties for operating without zoning approval — Article R-13 Municipal Civil Infractions and the zoning ordinance Article XX allow fines for violations of any township ordinance, with each day a separate offense.^[11]
• Anti-noise / public-nuisance violations — Article R-50 makes any disturbance of the peace between 11:00 p.m. and 7:00 a.m. that is plainly audible at 50 feet from the building prima facie evidence of a violation; civil-infraction fines apply.^[4]

Because the published fee schedule is amended periodically (most recently April 2025), confirm current dollar amounts directly with the office before you budget.

There is no STR-specific inspection cycle. Any rental property in Fruitland is subject to the same code-compliance baseline as every other dwelling:

• Building Department — Val Jensen II is the Building Official; appointments by phone at (231) 638-0529. Electrical inspections are by Jeff Johnson (231-855-0770), mechanical by Jim Hoppus (231-780-7414, text preferred), plumbing by Steve Smith (231-736-8179).^[12]
• Building Code adoption — the township enforces the Michigan Building Code and the State Construction Code via Article R-40 and Article R-41.^[10][13]
• Fire safety — Article R-58 adopts the International Fire Code as the township’s fire code.^[14]
• Septic systems — most Fruitland parcels are on private septic. Muskegon County Public Health issues new and replacement permits and offers system evaluations (a buy-side inspection of the tank, baffle, and drainfield), which is the standard pre-purchase check on any rural property here.^[15]
• Smoke and carbon monoxide alarms — required by state code on all sleeping levels; verify and document before any rental.

Quiet hours run 11:00 p.m. to 7:00 a.m. under Article R-50, the township’s Anti-Noise and Public Nuisance Ordinance.^[4] During those hours, operating any radio, instrument, phonograph, or other sound-producing device in a manner that is “plainly audible at a distance of fifty (50) feet from the building, structure or vehicle in which it is located” is prima facie evidence of a violation. Yelling, shouting, hooting, or singing on the public streets during those same hours is also prohibited.

Other relevant Article R-50 rules that show up in rental complaints:

• Vehicle exhaust must be muffled; modified mufflers and unmuffled motorbikes are an enforceable noise violation.
• Construction, demolition, or repair in residential areas is restricted to 6:00 a.m. to sundown on weekdays.
• Frequent or extended animal noise (dogs, birds, fowl) that disturbs neighbors is a violation regardless of time of day.

Reports go to the Township Hall at (231) 766-3208 (or by complaint form). Fruitland does not employ a full-time enforcement officer, so neighbor complaints typically drive enforcement.^[16]

Fruitland Township has no published STR permit cap or formal moratorium. It does not need one: the zoning ordinance already excludes <30-day rentals from the definition of residential use, so the question of how many STR permits to issue has not arisen.^[2]

What investors should track instead:

• Article II – Definitions is the active text setting the 30-day commercial threshold, last republished December 2025. Watch the Planning Commission agenda for any amendment that would carve out a separate “short-term rental” permitted use.^[2][17]
• Article XIV.04(C) – Bed and Breakfast standards remain the only legal path to host transient paying guests in residential districts; any change here would change the math for owner-occupied small operators.^[3]
• Lake Michigan Shoreline (Article VIa) overlay and the North Duck Lake Overlay (Article VIIIb) layer additional setback and impervious-surface rules on shoreline parcels; updates to those overlays affect what you can physically build or remodel, even on otherwise residential lots.^[18]

Planning Commission meets the first Thursday of each month; Township Board the third Monday. Agendas and minutes are posted on the township website.^[17]