Graham Jaehnig/Daily Mining Gazette Calumet Village Planning Commission Chairwoman Colleen Kobe addressed the Village Council on the issue of the number of short-term rentals, or AirBnBs within the village, for which there are currently no permissions in the Zoning Ordinance, which means they are operating illegally. One of the issues with them, from a financial aspect, she said, is that they are reducing the number of long-term rental units available in the village, which could be a potential contribution to the decline of the village’s population.

CALUMET — Short-term rentals (AirBnB) and marijuana business zoning were concerns of the Village Planning Commission at the regular monthly meeting of the Village Council on Oct. 19.

Short-term rentals or “vacation rental by owner” units have become very popular to travelers as unusual alternatives to hotels, Planning Commission Chairwoman Colleen Kobe told the council, with some apartments in the village already being rented as AirBnBs.

From the perspective of zoning, Kobe said, the difference between a bed-and-breakfast and an AirBnB is that in a bed-and-breakfast the owner/operator is in the dwelling at the same time as the guest, which is not the case with short-term rentals.

“At first, that doesn’t seem very significant,” Kobe said, “but that actually matters a lot.”

For example, she said, in the village of Calumet, there are people who are already renting some apartments and spaces in the Downtown District, as vacation rentals by owners. but technically, in the current zoning ordinance, that is not a permitted use, because they are not defined as short-term occupancy.

“Those really shouldn’t be happening there,” she said, adding that the problem in the village has always been with enforcing ordinances.

The village currently does not have a police force and neither the County Sheriff’s Office nor the Michigan State Police will respond to a civil infraction or a village ordinance violation, she said.

Kobe said, however, that while the Planning Commission is still rewriting and updating the Zoning Ordinance, short-term rental usage could be added, but the issue there is that if building owners start to renting them out on a short-term basis, it will greatly reduce the number of long-term apartments, houses, and other rental units available, which could potentially result in a population decline, which the village cannot afford, due to the decline in revenue from long-term renters.

Village Trustee Andrew Ranville said that is something the village is already seeing. According datausa.io, Calumet’s population has shown steady decline over the past number of years. In 2019, the village had a population of 744 people. Between 2018 and 2019 the population declined from 748 to 744, which again declined to 676 in 2020.

Ranville, who also holds a seat on the Planning Commission, responded that the village does want long-term rentals, the village wants the tax base, but questioned the best way to accomplish that.

Perhaps defining one zone within the village before an ordinance is created for short-term rentals, so that if it is defined, it needs to be in reference to at least one zone, he said.

“A separate ordinance defining what we allow short-term rentals,” Kobe replied, “might be advantageous.

The first thing we could do, she suggested, would be to place a cap on the number of apartments permitted to be let for short-term rental, downtown or throughout the village.

“The other thing, which might not be all that popular,” said Kobe, “is we could start taxing. That’s what other communities do, the city of Chicago started doing that, because it’s just like a hotel.”

Planning Commissioner Virginia Dwyer looked at how the city of Hancock addresses short-term rentals, saying that in that city, they must be permitted. There is a fee for the permit, and the rentals must be inspected, but repeated that what is lacking in Calumet Village is code enforcement.

Dwyer said there are several owners engaging in short-term rentals, for which they cannot be blamed as it is very lucrative, but, at the same time, as they are not currently regulated, safety questions arise: are enough parking spaces provided, for example.

Village Trustee Rob Tarvis also raised the question of whether short-term rentals should be permitted in the commercial and industrial districts, or just in the residential zone.

Dwyer referred to a map that shows where registered AirBnBs are located, then suggested that there are many more that may not be listed.

“Maybe it’s time — because we do have ordinances, too,” said Dwyer, “it’s time for the village to consider a code/ordinance enforcement.”

Ranville suggested that the Planning Commission talk with Sara Kopriva, with Beckett and Raeder, Attorneys, to write up a code or ordinance for the final draft of the new Zoning Ordinance before it is presented to the village at the upcoming public hearing, which is tentatively planned for sometime in November.