Port Sheldon Township

STRs are permitted in any single-family dwelling township-wide that complies with Ordinance 2024-01 — the ordinance applies to all single-family dwellings and does not restrict STR use by zoning district ^[3]. The underlying parcel must, however, still permit a single-family dwelling use under the Port Sheldon Zoning Ordinance ^[5]; the STR ordinance does not override zoning restrictions on residential use itself.

Two important limits do apply regardless of district:

• Accessory buildings cannot be rented. Barns, detached garages, ADUs, granny flats, and any structure other than the primary single-family dwelling are excluded ^[3].
• One dwelling unit per parcel. The Zoning Ordinance does not allow more than one dwelling unit per parcel ^[2].

Click to open the Zoning Map PDF. Confirm any specific parcel’s zoning with the Zoning Administrator before assuming dwelling-use rights.

Submit the Short-Term Rental Registration Form (PDF) to the Township Office — in person, by mail, or by email to STR@portsheldontwp.org ^[3]. Registration is annual; an owner must register the dwelling for each calendar year during which they intend to rent or advertise it as an STR.

The application requires the following information, certified as true ^[3]:

• Owner name, address, phone, and local-agent contact info (if the owner lives more than 20 miles away);
• Property street address and Permanent Parcel Number (PPN);
• Number and location of bedrooms;
• Number and drawing of off-street parking spaces;
• Maximum number of occupants the owner intends to rent to;
• Number of days at a time and the months of the year the property will be rented;
• Copy of the rental agreement;
• Certification that each bedroom has a working smoke alarm, each floor has a working carbon-monoxide detector, and the owner/agent will check these at least every 90 days; and
• Consent to township inspections.

Fees are set by Township Board resolution; the current schedule was approved at the February 11, 2026 board meeting ^[4].

Violations of the STR Ordinance are municipal civil infractions, with each day a violation continues constituting a separate violation ^[3]. Two separate incidents (occurring on two separate days) within a single calendar year resulting in a plea or determination of responsibility for violating the STR Ordinance, any other township ordinance (including zoning), or any local/state/federal law subject the registration to revocation by the Township Board after a noticed hearing. Revoked registrations cannot be re-registered for a period of one year ^[3].

The owner must consent to inspections upon request of the township, provided the township gives at least 48 hours notice to the owner or local agent ^[3]. The initial inspection is included in the $350 initial registration fee; additional inspections are $85 each ^[4].

Per the ordinance, every short-term rental must satisfy the following ^[3]:

• Smoke alarms in every bedroom;
• Working carbon-monoxide detector on each floor;
• Bedroom egress consistent with applicable building, fire, and International Property Maintenance Code requirements (campers, tents, floors, couches and similar arrangements may not be used to expand occupancy);
• Visible street-number marker from the road, plus the street address posted in at least two prominent locations inside the dwelling (near the kitchen, near any phone, near any pool);
• Owner/agent to check smoke and CO devices at least every 90 days;
• Adequate, closed trash receptacles with weekly pickup by a licensed waste hauler ^[3].

Maximum occupancy is the LOWER of two calculations — bedroom square footage or off-street parking capacity — and may never exceed 16 occupants (aged 24 months and up) ^[3].

Bedroom occupancy ^[3]:

• 70 sq ft = 1 occupant;
• +50 sq ft for each additional occupant in the same bedroom (so 120 sq ft = 2, 170 sq ft = 3);
• Up to two multi-purpose rooms may each be used for sleeping (sleeper sofas), with two occupants each (max 4 sofa occupants total), provided the rooms meet bedroom-code requirements.

Parking ^[3]:

• Minimum 2 off-street spaces on the property for up to 6 occupants;
• +1 additional off-street space for every 3 occupants over six;
• Parking on grass, lawn, or street is prohibited.

Quiet hours, noise & nuisance ^[8]:

• Amplified sound, loudspeakers, radios, TVs, musical instruments, and verbal noise audible at 50 feet (or at the property line, whichever is further) are prohibited between 11:00 PM and 7:00 AM;
• Construction noise is prohibited between 8:00 PM and 7:00 AM.

Exterior appearance: the dwelling must retain a residential character compatible with neighboring homes; it cannot be altered to add excessive paved surfaces, signage, or lighting out of character with the neighborhood ^[3].

Renter notice: the owner must provide each renter with the STR Ordinance, trash-pickup info, parking layout, occupancy limit, quiet-hours rules, and any applicable lake-use or HOA rules ^[3].

If the owner does not live within 20 miles of the rental, the owner must designate a local agent who does ^[3]. The local agent (or owner, if eligible) must:

• Be available to accept telephone calls at all times the property is rented;
• Have a key to the unit;
• Be physically present at the unit within 30 minutes of being contacted by the township or law enforcement, unless arrangements have been made for a substitute person to respond in the same timeframe.

The owner must keep the township promptly advised of any changes in owner or local-agent contact info ^[3].

There is no permit cap, no moratorium, and no waiting list. The ordinance is current as of May 2026 with no pending amendments on the township calendar.

Timeline of STR regulation in Port Sheldon ^[2][3]:

• Pre-2024: Approximately 100 STRs operated across most residential districts without a township-specific ordinance; the township board and planning commission had studied the topic over multiple decades.
• February 2024: Township Board adopted Ordinance 2024-01 unanimously (5–0) to regulate STRs while still permitting them in single-family dwellings ^[3].
• January 1, 2025: Registration requirement took effect.
• February 11, 2026: Township Board reaffirmed the STR fee schedule ($350 initial, $150 renewal, $85 additional inspection) at the annual fee-schedule review ^[4].

Context: neighboring Park Township to the south prohibited STRs outside its C-2 commercial district in 2024 (currently under litigation), while Grand Haven Charter Township to the north uses a stricter regulatory framework. Port Sheldon’s approach is intentionally middle-of-the-road — register, inspect, and enforce performance standards rather than restrict by district or cap volume ^[2].