08/24/2026
The Empire Village Council is facilitating a Public Hearing regarding a Short Term Rental Registration Ordinance tomorrow night at 7PM at the Township Hall.
This is our opportunity, as residents, to protect the future of Empire.
On May 8, 2025, the Empire Village Council reached a consensus that a Registration Ordinance and a cap on Short-Term Rentals (STRs) could be a first step toward answering the many questions surrounding STRs in the Village of Empire. It was agreed that this task would be assigned to the Empire Planning Commission.
The Village of Empire is now considering a Short-Term Rental ordinance. While registration is an important step, registration alone does nothing to limit the number of homes that can be converted into vacation rentals.
Without a cap, our community risks losing the very qualities that make Empire special.
Empire has approximately 373 year-round residents. In a village this small, even a relatively small increase in STRs can have a significant impact on housing availability for local families, retirees, and workers. As more homes become investment properties, housing costs can rise, neighborhoods can become less stable, and the sense of community we value can slowly be replaced by an environment dominated by commercial lodging.
An unlimited number of STRs can also bring increased parking challenges, noise, and demands on public services. Empire also has many older septic systems. Frequent changes in occupancy and larger numbers of visitors could place additional stress on those systems and raise legitimate environmental concerns, particularly given our proximity to South Bar Lake.
A registration ordinance regulates individual rentals. A cap regulates their cumulative impact. We need both.
No one is suggesting that STRs should be prohibited. They are an important part of Empire's tourism economy, and responsible vacation rentals can coexist with a healthy community.
But there is a point where too many STRs can begin to undermine housing availability, neighborhood character, and long-term community vitality.
The question before us is not whether Empire will allow STRs.
The question is whether we will protect the future of Empire while we still can—by establishing a reasonable cap that allows tourism to thrive without sacrificing the year-round community that makes Empire worth visiting in the first place.
Let's preserve Empire as a village where people can live, work, retire, raise families—and visit.
