Casnovia Township

Casnovia Township has not adopted a short-term rental ordinance, so STR permissibility tracks the underlying zoning district on the township’s approved zoning map. The township’s residential districts are Single Family Residential (R-1), Residential Agricultural (R-2), Residential-Estate (R-3), and Planned Unit Residential (PURD); the agricultural districts (A-1, A-2, A-3) cover most of the township’s land area.^[7][8] The township’s zoning ordinance (updated April 2026) does not define “short-term rental” or “transient lodging” as a distinct use category, which means STR permissibility is determined by analogy to the use schedule for each district and confirmed by the Zoning Administrator.^[6]

For any specific property, pull the parcel zoning from the Muskegon County GIS Zoning Viewer below, then email the Zoning Administrator to confirm before listing the property as an STR.^[9][2]

No. There is no short-term rental license, permit, or registration program at the Casnovia Township level. The township’s adopted ordinance set lists wind energy, solar energy, and the zoning ordinance itself, plus the standard suite of articles addressing site plan review, special land uses, and accessory uses, but it does not include a stand-alone STR ordinance.^[5][6] STR operators are still subject to the underlying zoning district, all special-land-use standards in Article 18, and to county-level health-department rules for septic and well systems on parcels not served by public utilities.^[10][11]

If a property has been modified to support an STR (added bedrooms, converted accessory dwelling, kitchenette in a barn or pole building, etc.), a Zoning Compliance Application must be submitted to the township and any associated building/subtrade permits pulled through IMS before the use begins.^[4][3]

Per the township’s October 2025 fee schedule, the routine zoning-side fees that an STR operator is most likely to encounter are: Zoning Compliance Application $15, Home Occupation Application $50, Sign Permit Application $50, Property Line Adjustment $100, Land Combination $100, and Land Division $200.^[12] Discretionary approvals that may apply to a property being repurposed or expanded for short-term lodging carry both a basic fee and a refundable escrow deposit against outside consultant costs:

Escrow accounts are charged against actual consultant invoices (planner, engineer, attorney) tied to the application; unused balances are returned to the applicant.^[12] Zoning-ordinance violations are typically pursued as municipal civil infractions; specific penalty amounts are set by the violation provisions in Article 20 of the zoning ordinance.^[6] No township-level STR licensing fee, transient-lodging tax, or rental-registration fee has been published because no such program has been adopted.^[5]

All building, electrical, mechanical, and plumbing permits for properties inside Casnovia Township are submitted to Imperial Municipal Services in Rockford, not to the township office. IMS schedules inspections, issues Certificates of Occupancy after final inspection, and answers technical code questions.^[3] The IMS office is at 263 Northland Dr., Rockford, MI 49341; phone (616) 863-9294 or toll-free (800) 442-2794; office hours Monday-Friday 8 a.m. – 4 p.m.^[3]

Common STR-relevant work that requires permits: finishing a basement bedroom, adding an egress window for a sleeping room, finishing an attic, installing a wood stove or fireplace insert, upgrading the electrical panel for new HVAC or EV charging, adding a detached accessory dwelling, replacing a furnace or water heater, and septic-system repair or expansion.^[10] Work without permits will surface during a buyer’s pre-purchase inspection, can hold up resale or refinance, and may affect insurance coverage on the rental.

Most parcels in Casnovia Township are on private wells and on-site septic systems rather than public water or sewer. The Muskegon County Public Health Department regulates new wells and septic systems, well replacements, and septic-system repairs or expansions; a property-transfer evaluation may be required when a parcel changes hands and when occupancy intensifies (e.g., adding bedrooms for STR use).^[10][11] STR operators should size the septic system to the maximum overnight occupancy advertised on the listing, not to the property’s historical owner-occupied use, and should keep evidence of recent pumping records and any inspection reports on file.

Casnovia Township does not publish a separate noise ordinance or quiet-hours ordinance the way some neighboring municipalities do; nuisance conduct (loud noise, fireworks, disorderly behavior, traffic disruption) is enforced through the Muskegon County Sheriff under state law and through the township’s general nuisance authority.^[1] STR hosts in a small rural township should set written house rules covering quiet hours, outdoor music, fireworks, parking, and trash, both because the township is small enough that a bad weekend will reach the Township Board, and because the Sheriff is the enforcement agency of first resort.

Where the township’s zoning ordinance does not list short-term rental as an outright permitted use in a residential district, two adjacent zoning frameworks may be relevant: the Home Occupation provisions and the Special Land Use Permit (SLUP) process under Articles 17 and 18 of the zoning ordinance.^[6] A Home Occupation Application is a $50 township fee and is the standard route for owner-occupied uses that generate limited customer traffic.^[4][12] A bed-and-breakfast or tourist-home use that does not fit the home-occupation envelope typically requires a Special Land Use Permit ($400 basic fee plus $750 escrow deposit) decided by the Planning Commission after a public hearing.^[12]

If you are buying a property specifically to operate as a short-term or bed-and-breakfast rental, the cleanest pre-purchase path is: pull the parcel zoning from the GIS viewer, email the Zoning Administrator with the address and intended use, and (if the answer is anything other than “outright permitted”) confirm in writing whether Home Occupation or SLUP is the required path before closing.^[2][9]

For zoning, building, or land-use complaints, the first call is to the Casnovia Township Office at (616) 675-4064 to identify which ordinance is being cited and whether the township office or IMS is the enforcing department.^[1][2] The township’s published policy is to investigate but not actively patrol for nuisance violations; complaints can be reported to the township office and may be made anonymously, with the first step generally being a written notice giving the owner two weeks to correct.^[3]

For active-disturbance complaints (parties, noise, parking, trespass), the responding agency is the Muskegon County Sheriff’s Office, not the township. STR investors who do not live nearby should retain a local property manager or 24-hour contact so a neighbor with a Saturday-night complaint reaches a person rather than a voicemail.