Parchment

Parchment’s zoning ordinance does not list short-term rentals as a use, so no zoning district explicitly permits or forbids them, and STR legality has to be verified parcel by parcel with the city.^[4] The code’s only transient-lodging use is a bed and breakfast inn, and that is allowed only in the R-A One-Family Residential District as a permitted use subject to zoning Section 12.16.^[6]

The city is divided into residential districts (R-C, R-A one-family, R-T residential transitional, and R-M multiple-family), three commercial districts (C-1, C-2, C-3), an I-M industrial district, and the Mill PUD on the former paper-mill site.^[4] A conventional whole-house Airbnb is not named in any of those district use lists. That silence cuts two ways: the city has not banned it, but a zoning administrator could also decide it is not a permitted residential use. Before you buy, get that interpretation in writing.

To check a specific property, pull its zoning district from the official zoning map, then confirm the use directly with the zoning administrator at City Hall.^[10][2]

No. Parchment has no short-term-rental permit, no STR ordinance, and no STR-specific registration program, so there is nothing to apply for and no STR fee to pay.^[4][13]

That does not always mean do nothing. Parchment’s Rental Housing Code applies to any rental dwelling, and the city defines that term broadly enough that a property rented to non-owner-occupants can fall under it.^[3] If your short-term rental is operated without the owner living on site, expect the city to treat it as a rental dwelling that must be registered, given a local responsible agent, and issued a Certificate of Compliance, the same path long-term landlords follow. A genuine bed and breakfast is named explicitly in the Rental Housing Code and must register as well.^[3]

Because this is an interpretation question, the safe move is a short call to City Hall: ask whether your specific STR plan triggers Rental Housing Code registration before you list the property.^[2]

A bed and breakfast inn is the one transient-lodging business Parchment’s zoning code actually recognizes, and it is a permitted use in the R-A One-Family Residential District subject to zoning Section 12.16.^[6] If you want a clearly legal short-stay operation in Parchment, this is the established route.

The defining condition is owner-occupancy. The code treats a bed and breakfast inn as a use subordinate to an owner-occupied single-family dwelling, not a standalone hotel.^[5] In practice that means you live in the home and rent rooms to guests, rather than renting the entire house while living elsewhere. A bed and breakfast must also register under the Rental Housing Code and carry a Certificate of Compliance like any other rental.^[3]

Confirm the Section 12.16 conditions, typically items such as off-street parking, signage limits, and the number of guest rooms, against the zoning text and with the zoning administrator before committing.^[4][2]

There is no short-term-rental fee in Parchment, because there is no STR program. But if your STR is treated as a rental dwelling or a bed and breakfast, the Rental Housing Code fee schedule applies.^[7] The figures below come from the city’s published 2026 fee schedule:

• Annual rental registration: $123 per property, plus $1.75 per unit.^[7]
• Bed & breakfast / hotel-type inspection: $121 per building, plus $16 per guest room.^[7]
• Standard rental inspection: $88 per unit, or $61 per unit if you schedule early, before the certificate expires.^[7]
• Operating an unregistered rental: $234 violation; failing to update a registration is $78.^[7]

Penalties escalate quickly if they are ignored. Rental Housing Code violations are municipal civil infractions carrying fines of up to $500 per day, with minimum fines rising to $150 for a repeat within a year and $250 after two prior offenses.^[3] Code-enforcement letters for an expired rental certificate run a graduated $78 to $255.^[7]

Any Parchment rental that falls under the Rental Housing Code, including a bed and breakfast and an STR the city treats as a rental dwelling, must pass a city inspection and meet the 2015 International Property Maintenance Code, which Parchment adopted by reference in that code.^[3] You cannot get the required Certificate of Compliance without it, and the city’s standalone Property Maintenance Code sets the underlying upkeep standards every dwelling must meet.^[8]

Inspections are not on a fixed yearly calendar. The Rental Housing Code makes them complaint-driven and event-driven: an inspection is triggered by a change of ownership or by a tenant complaint, and the city can pursue an administrative search warrant if access is refused.^[3] One catch worth knowing before closing is that the Certificate of Compliance will not be issued until every city debt on the property, including taxes, special assessments, water and sewer charges, and fines, is paid in full.^[3]

Building, electrical, mechanical, and plumbing permits for any renovation are handled by the Kalamazoo Area Building Authority rather than the city directly, and application forms are posted on the city’s forms page.^[13] If the property is not on city sewer, septic permitting runs through Kalamazoo County Environmental Health.^[12]

Because Parchment has no STR rulebook, your operating checklist is mostly about pinning down the gray areas before money is on the line. Here is the practical sequence experienced investors follow:

1. Confirm the zoning use in writing. Ask the zoning administrator whether a non-owner-occupied short-term rental is permitted on your specific parcel, or whether only a bed and breakfast is.^[2]
2. Register if the city says to. If your operation counts as a rental dwelling, complete Rental Housing Code registration and name a local responsible agent who can answer a complaint quickly.^[3]
3. Pass the inspection. Meet the property-maintenance standards, clear any city debts on the parcel, and obtain the Certificate of Compliance.^[3][8]
4. Be a good neighbor. Parchment’s general property-maintenance rules, covering noise, trash, parking, and upkeep, apply to everyone, and an STR that generates complaints is the fastest way to invite both inspections and a future STR ordinance.^[8]

One forward-looking note: small Michigan cities have been adopting STR ordinances steadily, and the state legislature has repeatedly debated bills that would reshape local STR authority. Treat Parchment’s current silence as a snapshot, not a guarantee, and re-verify with the city before each season.^[2]