Kalamazoo, MI Public Conduct: Loud Party Ordinance (2026)

Article III of Chapter 21 defines nuisance-party liability broadly. Under § 21-25, any owner, occupant, tenant, guest or other person with possessory control of property who sponsors, conducts, hosts, invites or permits a gathering that becomes a nuisance party has committed a violation, whether or not the nuisance was the specific intent of the host, so long as it was either intended or within the host's reasonable expectations; the ordinance still requires proof of general criminal intent, just not proof of specific intent to create a nuisance.

Section 21-26 extends liability to any person in attendance, regardless of whether they had possessory control over the property. Section 21-27 sets the penalty for both host and guest liability: a misdemeanor punishable by up to 90 days in jail and/or a maximum $500 fine. A 2025 amendment, § 21-28, added vehicle impoundment: Kalamazoo Department of Public Safety officers may impound a vehicle on scene if there's reasonable cause it was used in committing a nuisance party, citing the Home Rule City Act and MCLA § 257.252d.

If officers can't impound on the spot, they issue a warning letter by certified mail or personal service to the registered owner, and any future nuisance-party incident within six months of that warning authorizes impoundment. Officers who need to enter private property to locate a vehicle for impoundment must first get a district court order authorizing entry, so impoundment isn't automatic even after a warning.