The Village of Empire is in the beginning stages of crafting a new short-term rental (STRs) ordinance that is prime to spark debate in the community with the highest density of shortterm rentals in the county.
A committee of March Dye and Meg Walton representing the council; Carrie Ford and Bob Chase representing the planning commission, met on Tuesday to “review answers from various municipalities concerning STRs, and continue with discussion of items to potentially include in an ordinance.”
“We are contacting other communities to see what they are doing,” Dye said. “We haven’t done anything ... Empire is one of the last communities that doesn’t have an ordinance.”
Empire and Glen Arbor Township are the only communities in the county that don’t have a STR ordinance.
Dye said the Village of Empire has the highest percentage of STRs to single family homes in the county.
Several members of the public attended the meeting and expressed opinions for and against an STR ordinance.
“We are not taking anybody’s STRs away,” Dye said.
The committee has a goal of March 1st to bring an ordinance to the table.
In other business, the council was reminded that the village is viewed as an “At-Large Municipal entity” in South Bar Drainage District and will be assessed 11.5% of the amount of the project.
Estimated total assessment is $47,725.
“This is the cost of building the new outlet from South Bar to Lake Michigan,” Empire Village President Sue Palmer said.
If the village decides to pay on an annual basis, a cost of roughly $100-120, depending on how close you live to South Bar Lake, will be added to the tax bill.
In other news, Empire approved bids to Gosling Czubak of $114,470 for the grind and replacement for Lambkin Lane and Florence Street.
“We had hoped this work would have been done in 2023, but the bidding process was delayed,” Trustee Maggie Bacon said in a meeting document.
