Birmingham places moratorium on short term rentals following shooting at rental property
(FOX 2) - Weeks after shots were fired at a Birmingham rental home, the city commission has paused short-term rentals in the city. The suspect is now in custody following the April 11 incident, which included gunfire in the area of Lincoln and Adams.
The Oakland County community wants to limit bad behavior at short-term rentals.
Big picture view:
During its weekly Monday meeting on April 27, Birmingham city council members voted to pause home rentals of 30 days or less like properties found on AIrbnb and Vrbo.
The resolution called for creating an ordinance that eliminates any short-term rentals, or STRs, that are not owner-occupied. It's modeled off of a resolution that passed in New York City.
The original motion called for the elimination of applicable rentals "immediately." However, a city attorney watching the meeting said the phrasing did not add "any teeth" that would make it enforceable.
Birmingham City Council Meeting.
"If you ban it, there's nothing in the code saying that it's illegal to be less than 30 days," said Tracy Gaudenzi.
As an alternative, a new motion was put forward to request the city attorney and staff to come up with language that would "create a greater level of enforcement" regarding a moratorium on short-term rentals.
It received unanimous approval from the council.
Residents speak out after rental home shooting
Several Birmingham residents spoke up wanting tighter regulations on short-term rental homes in the city after a shooting at a house on East Lincoln Street near South Adams Road. Birmingham’s police chief updated city officials on the incident and said there were at least four shooters involved with 35 shell casings recovered, and two houses damaged by the gunfire.
The backstory:
Officers received several 911 calls just after 6:15 a.m. reporting gunfire in the 1400 block of East Lincoln Street, near South Adams Road.
Police responded and found shell casings in the area. Investigators said a party had been advertised on social media at a rental home nearby. Witnesses told officers they heard a verbal altercation followed by multiple gunshots.
Video from nearby homes shows numerous subjects fleeing the residence, police said. Officers later located and detained one person believed to have been in possession of a handgun and who fled the scene.
Multiple people have been detained for questioning, according to police.
No injuries were reported.
Suspect in custody after shots fired at Birmingham rental home following dispute
A suspect is in custody and multiple people were detained after gunfire erupted following an altercation at a Birmingham rental home early Saturday morning, police said.
The Source: A Birmingham city council and previous reporting was cited for this story.