Sturgis Township

The Sturgis Township Zoning Ordinance does not separately define ‘short-term rental,’ ‘vacation rental,’ ‘Airbnb,’ or ‘Vrbo,’ so any short-term rental falls under the closest existing zoning use category.^[3] Two related transient/adult-overnight uses are explicitly addressed in the ordinance:

• Retreat Centers — added by Ordinance 2026-1 (January 2026) as a Special Exception Use in the AG (Agricultural) District only. Site standards include an 8-acre minimum parcel, public-road or permitted private-driveway access, and required Building Department occupancy certification for any building used for overnight stays. Overnight camping in tents or RVs is prohibited.^[3]
• Outdoor Assemblies of large numbers of people (events that exceed normal demands on health, sanitation, fire, police, transportation, and utilities) are governed separately under Outdoor Assembly Ordinance 5-25 (2005) and require advance Township licensing.^[4]

The ordinance does not list a ‘short-term rental’ or ‘vacation rental’ as a permitted or special-exception use in any residential district. An absentee whole-home STR is therefore not separately authorized; a homeowner contemplating one should obtain a written zoning interpretation from the Township before listing.

Verify the district for any specific parcel using the St. Joseph County FetchGIS parcel viewer.

There is no Sturgis Township short-term rental registration program, no STR permit, and no STR application form.^[3] The Township does not issue an STR license and does not collect an STR fee. The permits an STR-style operator may still need are zoning- or construction-related, filed through the Township office at 26015 US-12:^[2]

• Special Exception Use Application — required if the operator intends to run a Retreat Center under the new Ord. 2026-1 framework (AG District only). Includes a preliminary business plan: types of retreats, expected duration, services, food sourcing, expected number of guests, on-site contact person.^[3]
• Site Plan Review and Zoning Approval — required for any new use, change of use, or change to the building footprint under Article V Sec. 5.02.^[3]
• Variance Application (ZBA) — required if a parcel cannot satisfy the dimensional or use requirements of its zoning district.
• Building / Electrical / Plumbing / Mechanical Permits — required for any physical alteration; especially required for Retreat Center buildings, where the Township Building Department must certify occupancy category before any overnight use.^[3]
• BHSJ Septic Change of Use Permit — required when bedroom count or design occupancy increases on a private septic system.^[5]

If you are operating an STR statewide, Michigan also requires you to collect and remit the 6% Use Tax on transient stays under 30 days through Michigan Treasury Online (MTO), separate from any local process.^[7]

Sturgis Township charges no STR-specific application fee, permit fee, or renewal fee because there is no STR program.^[3] Zoning permit fees (Site Plan Review, Special Use, Variance) and construction permit fees (Building, Electrical, Plumbing, Mechanical) are set by Township resolution; current fee amounts are not published in indexable form and should be confirmed directly with the Township office before submitting an application.^[2]

If a property owner operates a transient-lodging or retreat use in a zoning district that does not permit it, or operates a Retreat Center without the required Special Exception Use approval, the standard zoning-enforcement path applies under Article V and the Township’s Outdoor Assembly Ordinance for any associated large gatherings:^[3][4]

• Township-issued written notice of violation with opportunity to cure.
• If uncured, civil-infraction citation filed in 3B District Court.^[6]
• Each day a violation continues may be treated as a separate offense, in keeping with standard Michigan township zoning-enforcement practice.
• Unlicensed outdoor assemblies are separately prosecutable under Ord. 5-25.^[4]

Under Ordinance 2026-1 (adopted January 12, 2026, effective January 24, 2026), a Retreat Center is the codified path for an adult, group-overnight, wellness-oriented lodging use in Sturgis Township.^[3] A Retreat Center is defined as ‘a gathering and/or meeting space which may include provision for overnight lodging used to allow adult individuals, groups and/or couples to escape the daily grind … to focus on mindfulness, wellness, spiritual practice … yoga, digital detox, and other forms of stress relief.’ Required standards:^[3]

• AG (Agricultural) District only, and only as a Special Exception Use after site-plan review under Article V.
• Minimum parcel size: 8 acres.
• Public road or permitted private driveway access required.
• Cannot be located within a single-family residence; no person may live in any building designated for retreat center use. (Occupants of an existing farm dwelling may host and work at the retreat center.)
• 40-foot minimum building separation for all retreat center buildings, including pre-existing farm buildings.
• Building Department occupancy certification required for every building used for any retreat purpose; overnighting only in buildings certified for overnight occupancy.
• All required permits — septic/well, electrical, mechanical, plumbing, building, energy code, zoning — must be issued before occupancy.
• Activities are indoor by default; outdoor activities limited to walking, communing with nature, low-impact uses such as painting and yoga, and bonfires.
• No motorized or loud activities; golf carts staff-only; standard pedal bicycles only (no e-bikes, dirt bikes, ATVs, ORVs, snowmobiles).
• Overnight tents and RVs absolutely prohibited.
• For-profit food service requires a county food-service permit; educator qualifications must be substantiated.
• Signage: one non-illuminated sign of not more than 12 square feet at the road access point.
• Parolees, prisoners, and work-release individuals under the Department of Corrections may not be the focus of any retreat center activity.

Most Sturgis Township parcels outside the immediate city-edge corridor are on on-site septic and private well rather than municipal sewer/water.^[5] For any rental conversion or change of use that increases bedroom count or design occupancy, the Branch-Hillsdale-St. Joseph Community Health Agency (BHSJ) is the issuing authority for septic and well permits.^[5]

• New / replacement septic system: use the BHSJ Residential On-site Sewage Disposal / Water Supply Permit application.^[8]
• Change of use (e.g., adding bedrooms or converting a seasonal property to year-round/STR/Retreat Center use): use the BHSJ Change of Use application.^[5]
• Real estate transaction evaluation: BHSJ offers a Water Supply — Sewage Disposal Evaluation Request used at sale.^[5]
• Septic capacity is the practical occupancy ceiling for any STR or Retreat Center not connected to a municipal system; oversized guest counts can trigger system failure and BHSJ enforcement.^[5]

BHSJ St. Joseph County environmental health line: 269-273-2161 ext. 233.^[5]

Even when overnight rental of a Township home or Retreat Center is properly permitted, any associated event drawing large numbers of guests is governed separately under Sturgis Township Outdoor Assembly Ordinance #5-25 (adopted October 3, 2005). The ordinance requires regulation, licensing, and control of any gathering that exceeds the demands ordinarily placed on Township health, sanitation, fire, police, transportation, utility, and other public services.^[4]

Practical takeaway for STR and Retreat Center operators: a weekend retreat with 50 attendees, a wedding hosted at an STR, or a yoga workshop with paying day-attendees may trigger the licensing requirement under Ord. 5-25 even if the underlying rental is itself zoning-compliant. Plan the event and apply to the Township in advance.

Even though Sturgis Township does not collect a local STR fee or accommodations tax, Michigan’s 6% Use Tax on transient accommodations under 30 days applies to every short-term rental statewide.^[7] Hosts collect, file, and remit through Michigan Treasury Online (MTO). Platforms such as Airbnb and Vrbo collect and remit this tax automatically for many hosts, but direct bookings still require host filing.

St. Joseph County does not impose a separate local accommodations excise tax that applies to Sturgis Township short-term rentals.