Colon
Short-term & long-term rental regulations, fees, and investor resources for St. Joseph County, Michigan.
Area Overview
Colon is a small village of roughly 1,200 residents in southeastern St. Joseph County, perched between Sturgeon Lake and Palmer Lake and surrounded by Colon Township farmland.[1] The village is best known as the self-styled “Magic Capital of the World” — home of the Abbott Magic Company and host of the annual Abbott’s Magic Get-Together every August, which roughly doubles the local population for four days and pulls visitors from around the world.[1]
Rental demand in Colon is shaped by two very different cycles: a steady year-round long-term market driven by local employment and the school district, and a sharp summer spike tied to the magic convention, the lakes, and weekend traffic from Kalamazoo and South Bend. There is no centrally posted short-term rental ordinance for the Village of Colon, and the village’s planning and zoning function is administered one-on-one by the Village Zoning Administrator rather than through an online portal.[2][3] Anyone evaluating a rental investment in Colon should plan to confirm zoning, building permit, and rental requirements directly with the village.
This guide captures the public contacts, fee schedule, and permit forms the village publishes today. Where a regulation could not be verified from an official source, we say so plainly and point you at the right official to confirm — rather than guess. Last reviewed May 17, 2026.
Quick Status Summary
The Village of Colon does not publish a short-term rental ordinance, permit application, or registration program online as of May 2026. Short-term rental activity is governed by the village’s general zoning ordinance and is administered one-on-one by Zoning Administrator Matthew Jorgensen. Confirm any STR plan with the village before listing.
The Village of Colon does not publish a long-term rental registration or inspection program online. Standard Michigan landlord-tenant law applies, and any renovations require village building, plumbing, mechanical, and electrical permits as appropriate.
Rental Regulations
Where Short-Term Rentals Are Allowed in Colon
The Village of Colon does not publish a short-term rental ordinance, zoning overlay, or by-district permission list online. Zoning approvals are handled case-by-case by the Village Zoning Administrator rather than through a public portal or codified eCode page.[2][3] For any specific Colon parcel, the only reliable path is to call or email Zoning Administrator Matthew Jorgensen with the address before you list or close.
Practically, that means we cannot confirm in writing which Colon zoning districts permit STRs by right, which require a special-use permit, and which prohibit short-term rentals outright. We will update this guide as soon as the village publishes a written STR position. Owners and buyers should not assume an STR is allowed in any Colon zoning district until the Zoning Administrator confirms it for the specific parcel.
How to Confirm a Short-Term Rental Plan with the Village
There is no online STR application form. Start with a phone call or email to the Zoning Administrator. Matthew Jorgensen is reachable at (269) 386-1110 or swmizoning@gmail.com and is a Colon Village resident and former Planning Commission member.[3] He handles both zoning permits and zoning code compliance, so initial STR questions, conditional-use questions, and complaint handling all start in the same place.
For any building modifications associated with converting a property to an STR — added bedrooms, basement conversions, new HVAC or plumbing — Colon also requires separate village permits handled by the building official (see Fees, Permits & Building Requirements below). The village publishes its zoning fee schedule as a downloadable PDF.[4]
Fees, Permits & Building Requirements
Colon publishes a single combined Zoning Fee Schedule PDF and four separate permit applications: building, plumbing, mechanical, and electrical.[4][5][6][7] The zoning fee schedule lists current charges for zoning permits and reviews; specific dollar amounts are subject to change so always verify against the live PDF before submitting.
- Zoning permits — Matthew Jorgensen, (269) 386-1110, swmizoning@gmail.com (use this for any STR-related zoning question).[3]
- Building permits — Joe Wickey, (269) 816-4951 (required for construction or additions to any building within the village).[3]
- Plumbing permit — required to change or add plumbing inside the village.[5]
- Mechanical permit — required for HVAC and mechanical additions.[6]
- Electrical permit — required for any electrical renovation, residential or commercial.[7]
If an STR or LTR conversion involves cutting walls, adding bedrooms, or upgrading systems, expect all four reviews (zoning + building + the relevant trade permits) to be in play.
Inspections, Safety & Code Compliance
The Village of Colon does not publish a recurring rental-inspection program online; safety oversight runs through building permit inspections, blight enforcement, and county environmental health. Blight complaints are handled by Blight Officer Mike Haydon at (269) 435-8505,[3] and any STR or LTR with on-site septic falls under the Branch-Hillsdale-St. Joseph Community Health Agency, which administers sewage permits and complaint investigations for the county.[8]
Practically, smoke alarms, carbon monoxide alarms, and egress meeting the Michigan Building Code remain the baseline regardless of whether the village runs a formal annual inspection. If you are buying a Colon property to rent, ask the seller for any prior building or trade permit records and confirm with the village clerk what is on file before closing.
Operating Rules: Quiet Hours, Parking & Police Contact
The Village of Colon has its own Colon Police Department, not county sheriff coverage, and Police Chief Mark Brinkert is the direct contact for noise, nuisance, and life-safety complaints involving a rental.[3] Specific quiet-hour windows, on-street parking rules, and nuisance thresholds are governed by the village’s general ordinances rather than an STR-specific code, so a published “STR rulebook” does not exist for Colon at this time.
For owners and managers, the working approach is: (a) provide a 24/7 local contact for your guests, (b) include quiet-hour and parking language in your house rules that aligns with standard Michigan municipal expectations, and (c) escalate any nuisance issue to the Colon Police rather than dispatch from Centreville. House rules cannot substitute for an ordinance — confirm any specific limit with the village clerk before publishing them.
Where Long-Term Rentals Are Allowed in Colon
Long-term residential rentals are generally permitted in Colon’s residential zoning districts, but the village does not publish a by-district use chart online, so parcel-level confirmation is required before purchase.[2] The Village’s zoning function is administered by Zoning Administrator Matthew Jorgensen rather than through an eCode portal, which means the operative answer for any specific Colon parcel comes from him directly.
For long-term landlords, the practical workflow is: (1) pull the parcel and zoning designation from the St. Joseph County FetchGIS parcel viewer,[9] (2) confirm with the Zoning Administrator that long-term residential use is permitted by right at that address, and (3) keep a record of that written confirmation in your file.
Registration, Inspection & Landlord Licensing
The Village of Colon does not publish a rental registration program, annual landlord license, or scheduled rental-inspection cycle online as of May 2026.[2] That contrasts with several larger Michigan cities (Detroit, Grand Rapids, Kalamazoo, Portage) where annual landlord registration and recurring rental inspections are required. In Colon, the absence of a published program does not relieve a landlord from Michigan state-level landlord-tenant obligations — it just means the village is not running its own inspection cycle on top.
If you intend to operate a long-term rental in Colon, plan to: (a) confirm zoning use with the Zoning Administrator, (b) meet the Michigan Truth in Renting Act and Michigan Building Code baseline for any work, and (c) check back annually with the village in case a registration program is adopted.
Fees & Required Permits for LTR Conversions
For LTR renovations — finishing a basement, adding a bedroom, swapping out furnaces or panels — Colon requires the same permit stack as any owner-occupied work: zoning, building, and the relevant trade permits.[4][5][6][7] The fee schedule PDF is the authoritative source for current zoning charges, and each trade permit form is downloaded individually and delivered to the village office.
The Village Office is open Monday through Thursday 9:00 a.m. to 5:00 p.m. and Friday 8:00 a.m. to 4:00 p.m. at 111 S. Saint Joseph Street.[3] Same-day submission is realistic for straightforward forms; staff turn-around varies based on the build official’s schedule.
Inspections & Safety Baseline
Inspections in Colon are triggered by permit activity rather than by a recurring rental cycle. When a building, plumbing, mechanical, or electrical permit is pulled for a Colon property, the work itself gets inspected; in the absence of village-run periodic rental inspections, the rest of the safety baseline (working smoke and CO alarms, code-compliant egress, functioning utilities) is the landlord’s responsibility to maintain and document.
For properties on private septic in or near the village — common in adjacent Colon Township parcels — sewage system permits and inspections are administered by the Branch-Hillsdale-St. Joseph Community Health Agency, which serves all of St. Joseph County.[8]
Tenant Rights & Eviction Resources
Evictions and landlord-tenant disputes for properties in Colon are heard by the 3B District Court in Centreville, not in the village itself.[10] The 3B District Court Civil Division handles civil suits up to $25,000, small-claims cases up to $7,000, landlord-tenant disputes, and land-contract cases for all of St. Joseph County.[10] The Michigan Legal Help self-service portal links the right forms (demand for possession, summary proceedings) to the correct local court.[11]
For owners screening tenants and writing leases, the Michigan Legislature publishes a free Tenant-Landlord Practical Guide that covers security deposits, the Truth in Renting Act, and habitability obligations.[12] Reading this once before drafting a Colon lease will save substantial time on disputes later.
Official Resources
Property Tax Treatment
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- Burr OakVillageSTR Status Unverified
- Burr Oak TownshipTownshipSTR Status Unverified
- CentrevilleVillageSTR Status Unverified
- ColonVillageSTR Status Unverified
- Colon TownshipTownshipSTR Status Unverified
- ConstantineVillageSTRs Allowed
- Constantine TownshipTownshipSTR Status Unverified
- Fabius TownshipTownshipSTRs Capped/Limited
- Fawn River TownshipTownshipSTRs Not Allowed
- Florence TownshipTownshipSTRs Allowed
- Flowerfield TownshipTownshipSTR Status Unverified
- Leonidas TownshipTownshipSTRs Allowed
- Lockport TownshipTownshipSTRs Allowed
- MendonVillageSTR Status Unverified
- Mendon TownshipTownshipSTR Status Unverified
- Mottville TownshipTownshipSTR Status Unverified
- Nottawa TownshipTownshipSTRs Allowed
- Park TownshipTownshipSTRs Capped/Limited
- Sherman TownshipTownshipSTRs Allowed
- SturgisCitySTRs Allowed
- Sturgis TownshipTownshipSTRs Capped/Limited
- Three RiversCitySTR Status Unverified
- White PigeonVillageSTR Status Unverified
- White Pigeon TownshipTownshipSTR Status Unverified
Buying, selling, or investing in Colon?
I help investors and owners navigate short-term and long-term rental rules across St. Joseph County and the rest of southwest Michigan, including the small-village nuances that decide whether a property pencils out.
Sources & Downloads
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1Colon, Michigan — Wikipedia (geography, history, demographics) https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Colon,_MichiganUsed only for non-regulatory context: population, location, and the Magic Capital characterizationVerified: 2026-05-17
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2Village of Colon — Permits & Forms (zoning admin note) https://www.colonmi.net/permits-formsZoning Administrator's published note confirming one-on-one zoning administrationVerified: 2026-05-17
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3Village of Colon — Village Hall Contacts https://www.colonmi.net/about-us-contactOffice address, phone, email, and named staff contactsVerified: 2026-05-17
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4Village of Colon — Zoning Fee Schedule (PDF) https://www.colonmi.net/_files/ugd/2d8f77_1c25b45274db4312b5e30be188ee3b21.pdfAuthoritative current zoning fee listVerified: 2026-05-17
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5Village of Colon — Plumbing Permit Application (PDF) https://www.colonmi.net/_files/ugd/2d8f77_522e772955614610a882cef0fc021ec3.pdfApplication for plumbing changes inside village boundariesVerified: 2026-05-17
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6Village of Colon — Mechanical Permit Application (PDF) https://www.colonmi.net/_files/ugd/2d8f77_c38f309887554d329b7c954a8acdb279.pdfMechanical permit for HVAC and mechanical workVerified: 2026-05-17
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7Village of Colon — Electrical Permit Application (PDF) https://www.colonmi.net/_files/ugd/2d8f77_759877effcb8423a813b3744acb64faa.pdfElectrical permit for any electrical renovationVerified: 2026-05-17
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8Branch-Hillsdale-St. Joseph Health — Sewage Disposal Systems https://bhsj.org/programs/36County environmental health program covering septic permits and inspectionsVerified: 2026-05-17
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9St. Joseph County FetchGIS Parcel Viewer https://app.fetchgis.com/?currentMap=stjoPublic parcel viewer with zoning, tax, and ownership layersVerified: 2026-05-17
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103B District Court — Civil Division (St. Joseph County) https://stjosephcountymi.gov/government/courts-law-enforcement/3b-district-court/civil-division/Court handling landlord-tenant and eviction matters for St. Joseph CountyVerified: 2026-05-17
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11Michigan Legal Help — 3B District Court page https://michiganlegalhelp.org/courts-and-agencies/3b-district-courtSelf-help portal pointing tenants and landlords to correct local court resourcesVerified: 2026-05-17
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12Michigan Legislature — Tenant-Landlord Practical Guide (PDF) https://www.legislature.mi.gov/publications/tenantlandlord.pdfStatewide landlord-tenant baseline applicable to Colon rentalsVerified: 2026-05-17