Michigan Stay-Home Order Extended, Additional Local Orders Issued To Combat Pandemic

Governor Gretchen Whitmer extended the state’s Stay Home Stay Safe order Thursday through April 30 – adding to several local orders issued in northern Michigan this week intended to further enforce social distancing and combat the coronavirus pandemic, particularly when it comes to vacation homes and tourism rentals.

Whitmer’s extension means non-essential businesses must remain closed in Michigan until the end of the month. For those businesses that can remain open – notably grocery and essential retail stores – new rules are in place limiting the number of customers in the store at one time based on square footage, banning advertising of non-essential items after April 13, requiring at least two hours per week of dedicated shopping time for vulnerable populations, and closing store areas dedicated to carpet/flooring, furniture, garden centers/plant nurseries, and paint.

“If you’re not buying food or medicine or other essential items, you should not be going to the store,” said Whitmer. The governor’s extension adds a notable new provision banning Michigan residents from traveling between two residences in the state after April 10. Residents can return to Michigan from outside the state, or leave the state to go to a residence in another state, but cannot travel between Michigan residences. All travel to vacation rentals is banned, and advertising short-term rentals is prohibited unless it’s marketing housing for healthcare workers or volunteers aiding in the crisis.

Efforts to crack down on tourism rentals and vacation home owners flooding back to northern Michigan from hot-spot areas were already being pursued by local leaders prior to Whitmer’s announcement. Traverse City Manager Marty Colburn issued a memo Wednesday announcing the city was suspending all licenses for short-term rentals and tourist homes, except for those housing exempted individuals under the state order. If any vacation rental owner is housing an essential worker or other allowed renter, he or she must notify the city by submitting a declaration form confirming that the rental complies with the governor’s order. Anyone who fails to follow the city’s order is subject to penalties that could include fees or permanently losing their rental license.

The executive committee of the Leelanau County Board of Commissioners is also set to address issues with short-term rentals at their 9am virtual meeting on Tuesday. Leaders across the region have expressed frustration about out-of-state licenses appearing in increasing numbers across northern Michigan as second home owners flee hot-spot areas to come Up North. Though any individuals arriving from outside the area have been directed to self-quarantine for 14 days in their residences before venturing out, officials have questioned whether new arrivals are actually following those instructions. Prior to Whitmer’s order extension, Elk Rapids Village President James Janisse wrote the governor pleading with her to force residents to make a one-time choice between their first and second homes and to ban future travel between residences.

“People arriving here are not busy self-isolating,” he wrote. “They are busy in our grocery and hardware stores and gas stations, increasing risk for our vulnerable populations in a county with no ICU beds and limited regional medical resources."

While Whitmer’s order allows outdoor recreation as long as individuals maintain a six-foot distance from anyone outside of their household, growing crowds at some popular areas could force closures. Sleeping Bear Dunes National Lakeshore has warned that trails like Pyramid Point and Empire Bluff could be shut down if residents continue to pack trails and ignore social distancing protocols. The City of Traverse City has also closed all playground equipment to users. Whitmer was questioned at Thursday’s press conference about allowing golf courses to operate, as well as certain outdoor businesses like landscaping and construction. Whitmer replied firmly that those businesses were considered non-essential and would remain closed during the order.

“Every single exception…makes this (order) more porous and less likely to be successful,” said Whitmer. “Golfing and landscaping is just not critical infrastructure…it’s additional opportunity for exposure and spread.”

Grand Traverse, Benzie, and Leelanau counties' health departments issued their own emergency orders this week requiring businesses that are still open to follow additional protocols. Essential businesses are now required to screen employees for COVID-19 symptoms, provide visible guidance to enforce six-foot distancing, limit store capacity to help with social distancing, and publish a notice at the business entrance informing the public of the order. “Our community is depending on these essential workers and essential businesses to keep us going during this difficult time,” says Health Officer Wendy Hirschenberger of the Grand Traverse County Health Department. “I am making their safety and wellbeing a priority, which then protects those that need their services as well.”

Most areas businesses are now turning their attention to getting through the next few weeks, with questions looming about what comes after April 30. The Michigan legislature will need to convene to approve extending Whitmer’s emergency powers beyond that point, with Whitmer stating Thursday that residents should not expect that “everything is going back to normal” on April 30. She added that the stay-home order extension “almost certainly won’t be the last” protective measure enacted in response to the pandemic, but hinted there could be discussions about slowly reengaging parts of Michigan’s economy – with the caveat that the state’s economy can't be fixed until its health crisis is resolved. Speaker of the House Lee Chatfield, who was critical of the governor’s extension Thursday, said on Twitter that the state needs to “quickly transition to begin asking ‘what’s safe versus unsafe’ instead of what’s ‘essential versus non-essential.’”

“If we take this risk-based approach soon, we can avoid an even larger catastrophe,” he wrote. “Let’s help families. Let’s help save lives.”