During its Feb. 25 meeting, the Dearborn Heights City Council votes 5-2 to reject a moratorium on short-term rental properties until an official ordinance is adopted and approved by the city.
By SUE SUCHYTA
Times-Herald Newspapers
HEIGHTS – The City Council rejected a proposal for an immediate moratorium on short-term rentals until a permanent ordinance is approved and adopted, by a 5-2 vote at its Feb. 25 meeting.
Short-term rentals, like Airbnb, are furnished properties rented out for periods less than 30 days, which cater to tourists.
While they can be popular with people visiting local attractions like The Henry Ford, they can also prove disruptive to year-round residents.
Councilmember Tom Wencel said the increase in short-term rentals causes problems when they are used for illegal or illicit activities, like drug trafficking.
He said some properties owners do not maintain their properties well, and that some short-term renters throw parties at the site, causing noise and traffic congestion.
Councilmember Denise Malinowski-Maxwell said that without an ordinance allowing short-term rentals, they should not be permitted.
Councilmember Mo Baydoun said if there is no ordinance forbidding something, it cannot be considered an offense.
Malinowski-Maxwell said the Ordinance and Police departments are already short-staffed and shouldn’t have to deal with the problems that are occurring with short-term rentals.
She said Dearborn Heights is not a “destination city” and that prostitution and drug-dealing are occurring in short-term rentals.
“Most of the things that happen in these short-term rentals would not be allowed in any hotel or motel anywhere near here,” Malinowski-Maxwell said. “Right now, any of us could end up with a short-term rental next to us, so, we need to get this under control before it gets so out of hand that we can’t get it under control.”
During the Dearborn Heights City Council’s Feb. 25 meeting, Councilmember Tom Wencel proposes a moratorium on short-term rental properties until an official ordinance is adopted and approved by the council.
Councilmember Robert Constan said that while he agrees with the concerns, the city needs to develop an ordinance that will protect the city from litigation.
He said the city council dealt with an issue like this in the past when it attempted to put in place a moratorium on hookah lounges, which was overturned in court.
Councilmember Hassan Saab asked what Wencel proposed in terms of providing resources to enforces the moratorium, and what types of fines would be imposed.
He suggested waiting until an ordinance can be developed by legal counsel to address the issue thoroughly.
“Unfortunately, it’s a process, and as fast as you want to do it now, what we do today won’t be enforced tomorrow,” Saab said. “I really believe that we should allow the attorney to write it, where all of the legalities are in it, that way it protects the city and it protects the residents.”
Wencel said he lives next door to a short-term rental, and it irritates the full-time residents.
“We should put a stop to it now while we figure all this out,” Wencel said. “I think that we can put a moratorium on this.”
Gary Miotke, legal counsel for the City Council, said the issue is complicated, and the council needs to ensure that the process is done accurately.
He said it is possible that short-term rentals may not be allowed in a residentially zoned area.
“My sense is that we have a zoning enabling act issue whenever you deal with something; this is a land-use issue,” Miotke said. “So, doing a moratorium for something along these lines may actually end up being something that would violate the law.”
Corporation Counsel Roger Farinha said a moratorium would have to go through the Planning Commission and the Zoning Board, which are procedures that the city has in place.
“We have to go through the procedures and make sure we follow them before we come up with something so broad,” he said.
Wencel said he wanted to show the residents that the short-term rental issue would not be put on the back burner.