Union Pier Township Boundary Rules: Clerks, Not Occupancy Ranking

Thomas Garner
Aug 6
10 min read

Updated: 1 day ago

A boundary stone marking the Indiana-Michigan state line, similar to the township-line markers that determine which jurisdiction's STR rules apply to a Union Pier parcel

A Detail Two Other Posts in This Cluster Flag and Move Past Quickly

Union Pier is a genuine unincorporated community with no formal government of its own, and it straddles both Chikaming Township and New Buffalo Township. Both this cluster's Market Report and its Investment post mention that fact and tell readers to "confirm parcel-by-parcel" , without actually walking through what that confirmation involves. This post is that walkthrough.

Why the Line Matters More Than It Sounds Like It Should

If a parcel sits within Chikaming Township, it falls under the township's 550-permit cap, reached by April 2026 and closed to new applications until the current renewal cycle closes February 1, 2027. Buying inside that cap, per this cluster's Investment post, means buying scarcity , a transferable permit inside a genuinely closed system.

If instead a parcel sits within New Buffalo Township, an entirely different ordinance applies. New Buffalo Township runs on a $500 permit fee and a 36-month license term, with no numeric townwide permit cap disclosed in available sources , a different structure than Chikaming's hard 550-permit ceiling. It's also worth being precise about a related but separate distinction: New Buffalo Township and the City of New Buffalo are two separate, non-identical jurisdictions. The City of New Buffalo gates permit availability by zoning district under its own Ordinance No. 248, not a townwide numeric cap. None of these three jurisdictions , Chikaming Township, New Buffalo Township, and the City of New Buffalo , should be assumed interchangeable just because they sit close together in the same Harbor Country corridor.

How to Actually Confirm Which Township a Parcel Falls Under

The practical guidance is straightforward, even if it takes a few extra steps most buyers skip: never assume a Union Pier address defaults to one township's rules based on the community name alone. Verify the specific parcel's jurisdiction directly, using one or more of these methods, before making any assumption about permit availability, cap status, or fee schedule.

Contact the Berrien County or the specific township's assessor's office directly and ask which township the parcel falls under.
Use the county's GIS parcel viewer, which shows municipal boundary lines overlaid on parcel maps, to check the parcel's township designation visually.
Run a title search, which will show the parcel's legal jurisdiction as part of the property's recorded history.
Ask the seller's agent for the parcel's township designation in writing as part of any purchase offer, rather than relying on the listing's marketing description.

The Full Chikaming Timeline, Since the Other Posts in This Cluster Only Summarize It

For a parcel confirmed to fall inside Chikaming Township, the actual chronology matters for understanding how the current closure came about. The township imposed a moratorium on new STR permit applications starting in October 2024 while it studied the issue. It adopted its short-term rental ordinance at a February 12, 2026 special meeting, with the ordinance taking effect March 23, 2026. At the time of adoption, the township counted roughly 435 active licenses plus 82 pending applications , a combined total near 517 against the ordinance's 550-permit ceiling. That remaining headroom closed fast: the township reached the full 550-permit cap by April 2026, and new applications have been closed since, with the current renewal cycle scheduled to close February 1, 2027 at the earliest. Under the adopted ordinance, the permit fee runs $500 for a property's first bedroom plus $250 for each additional bedroom.

What Happens If You Guess Wrong About the Township

The practical risk of skipping jurisdiction confirmation isn't abstract. A buyer who assumes a parcel sits in Chikaming Township, prices in permit scarcity, and later discovers the parcel is actually in New Buffalo Township has misjudged the asset's core value proposition , New Buffalo Township's uncapped structure doesn't carry the same scarcity premium Chikaming's closed 550-permit system does. The reverse mistake is just as costly: an owner who assumes New Buffalo Township's more open permit environment applies, only to discover the parcel is actually inside Chikaming Township's closed cap, may find they can't add a permit, expand, or transfer the way they expected. Either error compounds every other piece of financial planning built on top of it , pricing, expected competition, renewal timelines , which is why this confirmation step belongs at the very start of any diligence process, not as an afterthought.

A Shared Look, Separate Rulebooks

One detail that makes the boundary easy to miss on a casual visit: Chikaming Township and New Buffalo Township have coordinated their design standards along the Union Pier corridor to keep the community's visual character cohesive across the line , consistent setback expectations, compatible architectural guidance, that kind of coordination. That shared aesthetic is exactly why the township line isn't visually obvious walking or driving through Union Pier, and exactly why a buyer or owner shouldn't mistake visual consistency for regulatory consistency. The two townships look like one community and function like two separate ones when it comes to STR permitting specifically.

A Worked Example of Confirming a Parcel

A concrete walkthrough helps make the diligence checklist above less abstract. Start with the property's parcel number, available on the listing or from the seller's agent. Enter that parcel number into the Berrien County GIS parcel viewer, which overlays municipal boundary lines directly on the parcel map , the parcel will show as falling within either Chikaming Township or New Buffalo Township's boundary. Cross-check that result with a direct call to the relevant township assessor's office, confirming both the jurisdiction and the property's current STR permit status if one exists. For a purchase specifically, request that the seller's agent include the confirmed township designation in writing as part of the offer paperwork, so the confirmation is documented rather than just verbally understood. That three-step check , GIS viewer, direct assessor call, written confirmation in the offer , takes under an hour and removes the single biggest source of misjudged risk in a Union Pier STR purchase.

Why This Post Exists Separately From the Market Report

This cluster's Market Report and Investment post both mention the township boundary honestly, and both correctly instruct readers to confirm jurisdiction before assuming Chikaming's rules apply. Neither walks through the actual mechanics of that confirmation, because doing so properly takes more space than a single paragraph inside a broader market overview allows. That's a deliberate division of labor across this cluster rather than a gap: the Market Report establishes that the boundary exists and matters, the Investment post explains why getting it wrong is financially consequential, and this post is where a reader actually learns how to resolve it for a specific parcel. Anyone who has already read either of those posts and skipped past the boundary caveat should treat this post as the step they skipped.

Keep a copy of whatever written jurisdiction confirmation is obtained , the GIS screenshot, the assessor's office email, the written offer language , with the property's other permit and closing documentation. It's a small file to maintain and the one piece of paper most likely to matter later, whether that's a future sale, a permit renewal, or simply settling a question that comes up again down the road.

What This Means in Practice

A buyer or existing owner who skips this step risks building an entire financial thesis , permit scarcity, cap-driven asset value, renewal timelines , around the wrong ordinance. Given how differently Chikaming Township, New Buffalo Township, and the City of New Buffalo each treat STR permitting, confirming jurisdiction isn't a formality. It's the first fact that has to be right before any of this cluster's other regulatory or investment guidance can be applied to a specific property.

Is Union Pier, Michigan in Chikaming Township or New Buffalo Township?

Both, depending on the specific parcel. Union Pier is an unincorporated community that straddles the boundary between Chikaming Township and New Buffalo Township, which run separate STR ordinances with different permit structures.

How do I find out which township my Union Pier property is in?

Contact the Berrien County or township assessor's office directly, use the county's GIS parcel viewer to check the boundary line against the parcel, or run a title search. Never assume based on the mailing address alone.

What's the difference between Chikaming Township and New Buffalo Township STR rules?

Chikaming Township caps STR permits townwide at 550, a cap reached by April 2026 and closed to new applications until February 2027. New Buffalo Township runs a $500 fee and 36-month license with no disclosed numeric townwide cap , a structurally different system.

Are New Buffalo Township and the City of New Buffalo the same thing?

No, and they're two separate, non-identical jurisdictions. New Buffalo Township runs a $500 fee, 36-month license structure. The City of New Buffalo gates STR permits by zoning district under its own Ordinance No. 248, not a townwide numeric cap.

Why does it matter which township my Union Pier parcel is in?

Because Chikaming Township, New Buffalo Township, and the City of New Buffalo each apply a different STR ordinance with different caps, fees, and license terms. Assuming the wrong jurisdiction can lead to an incorrect read on permit availability, transferability, or renewal timelines for a specific property.

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Frequently Asked Questions

Is Union Pier in Chikaming Township or New Buffalo Township?

Both, depending on the specific parcel. Union Pier is an unincorporated community with no government of its own, and it straddles the line between Chikaming Township and New Buffalo Township. The two townships run separate short-term rental ordinances with different permit caps, fees, and license terms, so the same street can sit under two different rulebooks. A host has to check the actual parcel, not just the mailing address, to know which one applies.

How can a host find out which township their Union Pier parcel is in?

Don't guess from the mailing address, since Union Pier addresses don't reliably signal which township a parcel sits in. Run the parcel number through the Berrien County GIS parcel viewer, which overlays the municipal boundary line directly on the map and shows which township the parcel falls in. A call to the Berrien County or township assessor's office, or a title search, confirms the same thing in writing.

What's the short-term rental permit cap in Chikaming Township?

Chikaming Township caps short-term rental permits townwide at 550. That cap was reached by April 2026, and the township has closed new applications since then. The current renewal cycle isn't scheduled to reopen until February 1, 2027 at the earliest, so a parcel inside Chikaming Township right now is buying into a genuinely closed, capped system rather than an open one.

When did Chikaming Township's short-term rental ordinance take effect?

The township adopted its short-term rental ordinance at a special meeting on February 12, 2026, and the ordinance took effect March 23, 2026. The remaining permit headroom closed quickly after that, with the township hitting its full 550-permit cap by April 2026. That's a fast runway from adoption to a closed system, which is worth knowing if a listing's permit history gets questioned.

What does the Chikaming Township permit fee structure look like?

Under the adopted ordinance, the permit fee runs $500 for a property's first bedroom, plus $250 for each additional bedroom. That's a per-bedroom structure rather than a flat townwide fee, so a larger house costs more to permit than a one-bedroom cottage. Confirm the current fee schedule with the township before budgeting, since ordinances can be amended.

What are New Buffalo Township's short-term rental rules?

New Buffalo Township runs a $500 permit fee and a 36-month license term, with no numeric townwide permit cap disclosed in available sources. That's a structurally different system than Chikaming Township's hard 550-permit ceiling next door. A parcel confirmed to sit in New Buffalo Township isn't buying into the same scarcity that a capped Chikaming Township permit represents.

Is New Buffalo Township the same as the City of New Buffalo for permitting?

No, and treating them as interchangeable is a common mistake. New Buffalo Township and the City of New Buffalo are two separate, non-identical jurisdictions with their own ordinances. The City of New Buffalo gates short-term rental permits by zoning district under its own Ordinance No. 248, rather than applying a townwide numeric cap the way Chikaming Township does.

What happens if a host guesses wrong about which township a parcel is in?

Getting the township wrong throws off every downstream assumption: pricing, expected competition, permit transferability, and renewal timelines are all built on top of that first fact. A buyer who assumes a parcel sits in the capped, scarcity-priced Chikaming Township system, then discovers it's actually in New Buffalo Township's uncapped structure, has misjudged the asset's core value proposition before any other planning even starts.

Why does the township boundary matter for how a Union Pier property is priced?

Because Chikaming Township, New Buffalo Township, and the City of New Buffalo each apply a different ordinance with different caps, fees, and license terms, confirming jurisdiction changes what a permit is actually worth. A permit inside Chikaming Township's closed 550-cap system carries a scarcity premium that New Buffalo Township's uncapped structure simply doesn't have. That confirmation step belongs at the very start of due diligence, not as an afterthought.

What's the fastest way to confirm a parcel's township before making an offer?

Pull the parcel number and run it through the Berrien County GIS parcel viewer to see the boundary line overlaid on the map. Follow that with a direct call to the township or county assessor's office to get written confirmation, and keep that documentation with the property's other permit and closing paperwork. That written record protects a buyer if the jurisdiction is ever questioned later.

Work with Crest & Cove Creative

Union Pier straddles a township boundary that changes which clerk's rules apply, and a listing that guesses instead of confirming the parcel line risks marketing a stay under the wrong township's terms.

We write listing copy that matches whichever township you've confirmed for your parcel, not a guess borrowed from a neighboring post in this cluster. Reach out with your confirmed township before you publish.

Reach out at crestcove.co or (256) 998-7502.