Fawn River Township

The Fawn River Township Zoning Ordinance does not separately define ‘short-term rental,’ ‘vacation rental,’ ‘Airbnb,’ or ‘Vrbo,’ so any short-term rental falls under the closest existing use category.^[2] The two zoning-defined transient-lodging uses are:

• Bed & Breakfast Facility — defined as a use ‘subordinate to the principal use of a single family dwelling in which transient guests are provided a sleeping room and board in return for compensation for a period not to exceed seven days.’^[2] Permitted as a use of right only in the AG (Agricultural) District (Section 9.2(3)).^[2]
• Motel or Other Facility Providing Transient Lodging — permitted by right in M-1 (Industrial) and as a Special Exception in C-1 (Commercial) per the Article XVI(B) Use Table.^[2]

The R-1, R-2, R-L (Lake) Residential, and RMH (Residential Mobile Home) districts do not list B&B or transient lodging as a permitted or special-exception use.^[2] In practice this means a homeowner who lives in the dwelling and rents a sleeping room short-term within an AG-zoned single-family home is on the firmest footing; an absentee whole-home short-term rental in a residential district is not addressed and should be cleared with the Zoning Administrator before listing.

Verify the district for any specific parcel using the Township’s Zoning Map and the St. Joseph County FetchGIS parcel viewer.

There is no Fawn River Township short-term rental registration program, no STR permit, and no STR application form.^[2][3] The Township does not issue an STR license and does not collect an STR fee.

The permits a short-term rental operator may still need are zoning- or construction-related, filed through the Township’s Applications & Permits portal:^[3]

• Application for Site Plan Review and Zoning Approval — required if work changes the building footprint, adds bedrooms, or changes the use of an existing structure.
• Application for Special Use — required if the Zoning Administrator interprets the STR use as a Special Exception Use (for example, a motel-style transient lodging facility in C-1).
• Application for Variance (ZBA) — required if a property cannot satisfy the dimensional or use requirements of its zoning district.
• Building / Electrical / Plumbing / Mechanical Permits — required for any physical alteration, filed via the corresponding Fawn River application PDFs.

If you are operating an STR statewide, Michigan also requires you to collect and remit the 6% Use Tax on transient stays under 30 days through Michigan Treasury Online (MTO), separate from any local process.^[7]

Fawn River Township charges no STR-specific application fee, permit fee, or renewal fee because there is no STR program.^[2] Zoning permit fees (Site Plan Review, Special Use, Variance) and construction permit fees (Building, Electrical, Plumbing, Mechanical) are set by Township resolution; current fee amounts are not published on the Township website and should be confirmed directly with the Zoning Administrator before submitting an application.^[3][5]

If an operator is found to be running a transient-lodging use in a zoning district that does not permit it, the standard Township zoning-enforcement path applies:^[2]

• The Township Complaint Policy (effective March 11, 2024) governs how complaints are filed, reviewed, and acted upon.^[8]
• Zoning violations are addressed under Article XX of the Zoning Ordinance, typically by written notice, opportunity to cure, and (if uncured) civil-infraction citation in 3B District Court.^[2]
• Each day a violation continues may be treated as a separate offense, in keeping with standard Michigan township zoning-enforcement practice.^[2]

The codified path for a residential-style short-term lodging operation in Fawn River Township is the Bed & Breakfast Facility, a permitted use of right in the AG (Agricultural) district. The operational requirements are spelled out in the Special Uses chapter of the Zoning Ordinance:^[2]

• Must operate as a home occupation consistent with Section 4.31 — entirely within a single dwelling unit, no employees not residing in the dwelling, no more than 35% of gross floor area, and no exterior evidence beyond a permissible sign.^[2]
• Owner-occupied principal residence: the dwelling must be occupied by the owner as his/her principal residence.^[2]
• Maximum guest stay: seven (7) consecutive days.^[2]
• Off-street parking: one space per sleeping room, in addition to spaces required for the permanent occupants of the premises.^[2]
• Smoke detectors in proper working order in every sleeping room.^[2]
• At least one fire extinguisher in proper working order on every floor of the dwelling.^[2]

An absentee, whole-home short-term rental does not meet the B&B definition (which requires the owner's principal residence) and is not separately authorized in the residential districts.^[2]

Most Fawn River Township parcels are outside municipal sewer and water; on-site septic and private well are the norm.^[4] For any rental conversion or change of use that increases bedroom count or design occupancy, the Branch-Hillsdale-St. Joseph Community Health Agency (BHSJ) is the issuing authority for septic and well permits.^[4]

• New / replacement septic system: use the BHSJ Residential On-site Sewage Disposal / Water Supply Permit application.^[9]
• Change of use (e.g., adding bedrooms or converting a seasonal property to year-round/STR use): use the BHSJ Change of Use application.^[4]
• Real estate transaction evaluation: BHSJ offers a Water Supply — Sewage Disposal Evaluation Request used at sale.^[4]
• Septic capacity is the practical occupancy ceiling for any STR not connected to a municipal system; oversized guest counts can trigger system failure and BHSJ enforcement.^[4]

BHSJ St. Joseph County environmental health line: 269-273-2161 ext. 233.^[4]

Even though Fawn River Township does not collect a local STR fee or accommodation tax, Michigan's 6% Use Tax on transient accommodations under 30 days applies to every short-term rental statewide.^[7] Hosts collect, file, and remit through Michigan Treasury Online (MTO). Platforms such as Airbnb and Vrbo collect and remit this tax automatically for many hosts, but direct bookings still require host filing.

St. Joseph County does not impose a separate local accommodations excise tax that applies to Fawn River Township short-term rentals.