Fruitport

The Village of Fruitport’s 2019 Zoning Ordinance does not use the term “short-term rental” anywhere in the code.^[3] The closest analogues are two definitions in Chapter 2:

• Dwelling — a building used as the home, residence, or sleeping place of one family “either permanently or transiently,” which arguably encompasses short-stay residential use of a normally-zoned dwelling.^[3]
• Bed & Breakfast Establishment — a separately-defined use within a detached single dwelling where transient guests are provided a sleeping room, breakfast, and bath access for payment.^[3] Where B&Bs are allowed (and on what terms) is a question only the Zoning Administrator can answer for a specific parcel.

Because the Village has not formally classified whole-house short-term rental as either a permitted residential use or a separate commercial accommodation use, the practical answer is: do not assume STR is allowed on any specific parcel without a written zoning determination from the Village. The Zoning Administrator is Roger Vanderstelt.^[4]

There is currently no Village of Fruitport short-term rental registration or licensing program — neither a dedicated STR portal nor a paper application appears in the Village’s Forms, Ordinances & Documents catalog.^[7] An owner who is determined to operate an STR in the Village will typically need to:

1. Email the Zoning Administrator (roger@fruitportvillage.org) describing the proposed use and request a written zoning determination.^[4]
2. If the use is determined to require a Special Land Use approval or a Bed & Breakfast classification, file the corresponding application with the Planning Commission and pay the published fee.^[8]
3. Obtain any building or change-of-use permits through Michigan Township Services, the Village’s contracted building department, at 231-865-6977 or 231-865-3310.^[4]
4. Register with the Michigan Department of Treasury for the 6% Use Tax on accommodations under 30 days^[9] and with the Muskegon County Treasurer for the 5% county accommodations excise tax under Public Act 263 of 1974.^[10]

If you list on Airbnb or Vrbo without confirming the zoning question first, you are taking on personal enforcement risk — please do not skip step 1.

The Village publishes no STR-specific permit fee or STR-specific civil-infraction penalty schedule because no STR ordinance exists.^[5][7] The fees that do apply to an STR-style operation in the Village are external to the rental itself:

• Michigan Use Tax on accommodations — 6% of the rental charge for stays under 30 consecutive days, remitted to the Michigan Department of Treasury.^[9]
• Muskegon County Accommodations Tax — 5% of the total charge for transient lodging (stay under 30 consecutive days), remitted to the County Treasurer; one-fifth of the proceeds is appropriated to the Convention & Visitors Bureau.^[10]
• Zoning permit and Planning Commission fees — set on the Village fee schedule and payable at the time of any required application or determination.^[8]
• Zoning enforcement — violations of the Zoning Ordinance are enforced through municipal civil infraction procedure with daily-recurring fines as described in Michigan’s Zoning Enabling Act, MCL 125.3801–125.3802.^[3]

The Village contracts building permitting and inspections to Michigan Township Services, which performs all Michigan Building Code, Mechanical Code, Electrical Code, and Plumbing Code inspections on behalf of the Village.^[4] An STR-style use that involves any change of occupancy, finished basement bedroom, deck, dock work, or new sleeping area will trigger a building permit through Michigan Township Services after the underlying Village zoning permit is issued.

The Village does not conduct routine rental safety inspections of its own, because there is no rental registration ordinance to authorize them.^[7] Owners are nonetheless bound by Michigan’s housing law (MCL 125.401 et seq.) for smoke detectors, egress windows, GFCI protection in kitchens and baths, and working heating systems regardless of whether the Village ever inspects the property.

For properties on septic, plan for a Muskegon County Public Health Existing System Evaluation before closing or before any rental conversion — this is the cleanest way to confirm tank size, drain-field condition, and a system that is adequate for an expected occupancy load.^[11]

Even though the Village does not have a dedicated STR ordinance, four operating layers still apply to any short-stay rental inside the Village limits:

1. Tax remittance. Combined 6% Michigan Use Tax + 5% Muskegon County accommodations tax on every rental under 30 days.^[9][10] Airbnb and Vrbo collect Michigan Use Tax automatically in most cases, but operators are responsible for the county tax and for direct-booking guests where the platform does not collect.
2. Parking. All occupant vehicles must be parked on-site per the residential-district parking requirements in Chapter 7 of the Zoning Ordinance; no overnight parking is permitted on Village streets where prohibited by signage, and snow-route parking restrictions apply November through April per the published DPW Snow Plow Plan.^[4]
3. Refuse and waste. The Village publishes a Household Waste page outlining curbside pickup days and bulk-pickup rules — STR operators are responsible for ensuring guests follow the schedule.^[2]
4. Noise & nuisance. General nuisance and noise provisions in the Village Code of Ordinances apply, with enforcement through the County Sheriff or the Zoning Administrator.^[5] No quiet-hours schedule is set specifically for STRs because no STR ordinance exists.