To the editor:
For 5.5 years, Elmwood Township elected officials have buried their heads in the sand. When STRs were determined to be a forbidden use in March 2019 and citizens filed zoning complaints, instead of enforcing our zoning ordinance, Township officials, without ANY advance public notice, instead adopted an Enforcement Moratorium that lasted 2+ years. When 265 residents signed a petition asking officials to protect Greilickville residential neighborhoods, Elmwood elected officials blew them off. When the Township Planning Commission recommended STRs be forbidden from single family residential districts, Township officials ignored their recommendation. When STR opponents rightfully called STRs a commercial use, Township officials deleted “commercial” from the STR definition. When residents asked for a ZBA interpretation whether STRs were a similar use to a hotel, as Michigan courts had upheld, Township officials changed the STR definition to make it clear STRs were not a hotel. When I made a presentation in December 2023 aimed at protecting Greilickville neighborhoods from future STRs, the Board agreed to send it to the Planning Commission. But on February 12, 2024, in closed session and without any public notice once again, Township officials voted to rescind their December 2023 Motion upon advice of counsel.
I recently sued the Township in Circuit Court alleging a violation of the Open Meetings Act as allowed by law. The Township has asked the court for summary disposition against me and for me to pay Township Attorney court costs. Township officials have failed its citizens and should be ashamed of themselves. Jack Kelly Elmwood Township
