Richland

Richland’s zoning ordinance has no short-term rental district and no zoning category that names short-term, vacation, or whole-house rentals. The only paid overnight-lodging use it defines and locates on the map is the bed and breakfast inn.^[1]

The village is divided into ten zoning districts plus a Village Core Overlay: four residential (R-1 Single-Family, R-2 Single- and Two-Family, R-3 Multiple Family, and R-4 Mobile Home Park), two office (O-1 and O-2), two commercial (C-1 Local and C-2 General), and two industrial (I-1 and I-2).^[1] Because a non-owner-occupied short-term rental is not a use the ordinance addresses, whether one is allowed on a given parcel is genuinely unsettled and has to be confirmed with the Village.

Before relying on any STR plan, check the parcel’s district on the village zoning map, read the use lists in Ordinance No. 28, and confirm the current position with the Village Clerk.^[1][5]

No. There is no Village of Richland short-term rental permit, license, or registration program, because the village has not created one.^[2][4]

That absence cuts both ways. There is no village application to file and no annual STR fee, but there is also no ordinance that affirmatively authorizes a non-owner-occupied short-term rental, which means an STR is not a permitted-by-right use anywhere in the village. The one paid-lodging path the ordinance does provide, a bed and breakfast inn, requires a special land use permit reviewed by the Planning Commission, and it is covered in the next section.^[1]

Before listing a property, contact the Village Clerk to confirm how the Village currently treats short-term rentals. In a village this small, enforcement is typically complaint-driven through the zoning and nuisance ordinances.^[3][4]

A bed and breakfast inn is the only short-stay lodging use the village’s zoning ordinance defines, and it is allowed only as a special land use, never by right.^[1]

The ordinance defines a B&B inn as a use subordinate to a residence’s principal use as a single-family dwelling, in which transient guests are given a sleeping room and board in return for payment. It splits the use into two categories: owner-occupied, where the titleholder lives in the home as a principal residence, and resident-managed, where a manager lives on site and the inn has no more than eight sleeping rooms for paying guests.^[1]

B&B inns are a special land use in the R-1 Single-Family district (owner-occupied only) and in the C-1 Local Commercial district (resident-manager operated). In both districts the residence must not be located in a platted subdivision.^[1] A special land use requires Planning Commission review, a public hearing, and an application fee, so budget time and cost accordingly. Hotels and motels are defined separately in the ordinance and are not the same as a B&B inn.^[1]

There is no short-term-rental fee in the Village of Richland, because the village runs no STR program: no registration fee, no license fee, and no annual renewal.^[4]

The only village-related charges that can attach to a short-stay use are the zoning special-land-use application fee, if you pursue a bed and breakfast inn, and the Kalamazoo Area Building Authority’s permit fees for any construction or change-of-use work.^[1][7] Current amounts are set by Village resolution and by KABA’s published fee schedule rather than fixed in the ordinance text, so confirm both before budgeting.^[4][7]

On the enforcement side, operating a use the zoning ordinance does not allow is a zoning violation, and noise or disturbance complaints are handled as public nuisances under the village’s Noise Control ordinance.^[1][3]

The Village of Richland sets no short-term-rental-specific occupancy caps, quiet hours, or parking rules. A short-stay guest is held to the same standards as any resident, chiefly the village’s Noise Control ordinance.^[3]

That ordinance declares loud and unusual noises and annoying vibrations that disturb people of ordinary sensibilities to be public nuisances, and it specifically addresses sound amplification, animal noise, and engine and exhaust noise.^[3] Because a small village relies on neighbor complaints rather than dedicated rental inspectors, the practical operating rule for any rental here is straightforward: keep guest counts reasonable for the dwelling, manage parking on site, and respond quickly to neighbor concerns.

If a property sits in the Village Core Overlay District, additional design and use standards from Ordinance No. 28 may apply, so check the parcel against the zoning map.^[1][5]

Building, electrical, mechanical, and plumbing permits for any property in the village, including work to convert or upgrade a home for guest use, go through the Kalamazoo Area Building Authority (KABA), not the Village office.^[4][6]

KABA is the shared inspection agency for the Village of Richland and several neighboring Kalamazoo County communities. Its office is at 2322 Nazareth Road, Kalamazoo, and applications can be filed online or in person.^[6][8] KABA notes that building-permit applications can take roughly seven to ten days to review, while trade permits that need no plan review are often processed the day they are received.^[7]

Zoning, sign, and fence approvals stay with the Village itself. For any property on a septic system rather than public sewer, on-site sewage permits and evaluations are handled by Kalamazoo County Environmental Health.^[9]