BY SCOTT SULLIVAN EDITOR
Saugatuck City Council Monday hired professional planning consultants McKenna and Associates for $25,000 to help and facilitate its new short-term rental (STR) task force.
That group — chair Holly Anderson, Sean Steele, Kevin Tringali, Elizabeth Boerema, Cathy Hart, Anne Gudith, Joe Clark, Steven Manns and Lauren Stanton — has been tasked with studying local short-term rental (STR) data, gather community input and identify possible reforms to the city’s certification and inspection policies.
It will serve as advisory to the planning commission (represented by chair Manns) and council (Stanton), which by law have decision-making powers.
STRs are a hot topic here and elsewhere. “With the city,” notes McKenna’s engagement narrative, “being positioned on Lake Michigan, the desire for residents to lease homes to tourists can be staggering.
“Short-term rentals,” the firm continues, “offer property owners a secondary income, while also increasing the tourist base of a community. But short-term rentals also increase the price of housing and create uncertainty and instability within neighborhoods.
“The use of online sites such as AirBnB and Vrbo make renting out residential homes convenient – and thus increasingly common.” The city’s 2023 community survey identified STRs’ rapid growth as council’s top priority to address this year.
City zoning and planning administrator Ryan Cummins March 23 told council he sought proposals from three regional planning consulting firms.
Williams & Works of Grand Rapids responded it did not now have the capacity to handle such a project. Ann Arbor-based Beckett & Raeder did not respond.
“It doesn’t matter how many responses you get,” said council member Garnet Lewis, “as long as you wind up with one that’s good.”
McKenna, with offices in Northville, Kalamazoo and Grand Rapids, “has provided planning, zoning and economic development assistance to over 100 communities throughout the Midwest since 1978,” its prospectus says.
“Our planners and designers are not only qualified but experienced in providing a high level of service to our communities and their residents by helping to express shared visions, creating understandable codes, and helping people navigate the development review process,” the firm goes on.
Senior planner Kyle Mucha, AICP will serve as Saugatuck’s project manager and main contact point. McKenna’s senior principal planner and West Michigan manager Chris Korey, AICP, will be project director.
Mucha, says the firm, provides technical planning and review, analytical support and zoning assistance to cities, townships and villages throughout Michigan.
He has experience with municipal operations, multi-jurisdictional cooperation, and interdepartmental coordination for projects big and small, with short and long-term positive impacts on residents, the prospectus goes on.
Mucha also has years of experience with community quality and zoning ordinance implementation, plus holds training certification in Michigan’s Redevelopment Ready Communities Program.
Khory, says McKenna, is responsible for overseeing ongoing planning and economic development services in many West Michigan communities, including Holland and Fennville recently.
He also has deep experience developing future visions for communities large and small in the form of master plans, downtown, sub-area and corridor plans, plus implementing them through zoning.
“Chris has ample experience with housing analysis and market studies and will lend his support to the project team,” the firm says.
“We believe that our highly-skilled, locally-based approach provides a unique advantage for the city as it relates to the short-term rental task force. Our team is ready to begin this exciting project with city staff and community leaders,” its prospectus says.
After data analysis and public engagement tasks are complete, Mucha outlines his course of work, “and recommendations are discussed with city organizations and leadership, McKenna will produce the following deliverables as the city deems needed and requested:
• A graphically-rich report of key findings as they pertain to the short-term rental analysis at the local, regional and national level (including analysis of existing rental properties and violations). This will include applicable maps and other information.
• A graphically-rich public engagement report that summarizes results of all public engagement activities.
• Final recommendations as they pertain to policies for the city to adopt. This deliverable can include:
1) Recommendations in ordinance format for adoption into the City’s zoning ordinance;
2) Recommendations for any applicable amendments to the master plan; and
3) Other recommendations as identified throughout the duration of the project and at the city’s direction.
“Tackling this,” mayor Scott Dean said at the March 23 workshop, “was cited by residents as council’s top priority this year.
“We know it’s important and won’t be easy, but at last and least we are doing it,” he continued. “Meetings on this have been and will continue to be public, with input welcome.”