*South Haven City Council Members Approved Changes to Parking Fees and Fines*

SOUTH HAVEN, Mich. — City council members approved changes to their parking fees and fines on Monday to support their recently restarted lifeguard program. The City of South Haven City Council approved two resolutions and an ordinance on Monday night that changed beach parking rates from $10 per day to $3 per hour, increased weekly parking passes from $30 to $50 and increased fines from $20 to $45.

The changes are expected to increase the city's estimated annual parking revenue by $867,284 for a total estimate of $1.3 million annually, not including money generated from collecting on fines, according to city documents.

Restarting the Lifeguard Program

These changes come as the city is set to officially restart their lifeguard program for the first time since they disbanded it in 2001, a move they estimate will cost them $481,000 for the first year.

Last year, the city recorded operating their beaches at a loss — it cost them $611,189 to run the beaches, however, they only generated $589,908 in operating revenue, according to the city's annual comprehensive financial document for FY 24-25.

Looking ahead to FY 26-27, the city's proposed budget is planning for $1.43 million total beach revenues and $1.35 million in total beach expenses, including everything needed for the lifeguard program.

Councilmember Response

"I just want the general public to know that this really isn't a parking increase," Councilmember Tom Capps said. "We hope to generate more funds, however, if I want to go have lunch at the beach, it's going to cost me $3, not $10. And if I want to spend three hours there, it's going to cost me $9, not $10. Now, if I want to stay for eight hours, I have to pay more money and you should. So I don't consider that an increase that that the city is trying to get rich off."

Increased Parking Fines

City council also approved increases in unpaid parking fines:

  • Not paid after seven days: Increase to $75 from $40
  • Not paid after 60 days: Increase to $100 from $60

Because whether people actually pay their parking tickets is inconsistent, according to city documents, the city can't plan budgets around potential money earned from these fines. The increase is more to enforce compliance of paying for parking.

Beach Parking Program Details

City of South Haven property owners are eligible to receive two free beach parking stickers per year, and this did not change despite recommendations to do so by the management company that developed the city's three-phase lifeguard implementation plan at the end of last year.

The city's three-year annual parking pass also didn't change, however, council will review changing these rates next year along with possibly developing a residential parking program as a replacement for weekly paid parking and annual stickers, according to city documents.

Lifeguard Program Timeline

Lifeguards are still on track to begin working on Memorial Day weekend, according to city documents, and will begin training on May 1. Chief Lifeguard David Figueredo had his first day on April 6.

The Push for Lifeguards

South Haven is the only community on the lakeshore that has a weekly rate for parking, according to city documents.

In 2021, South Haven approved a resolution to reinstate a lifeguard program. Since then, the city has hired a new chief lifeguard, ordered lifeguard towers, chairs and other equipment.

The city recently hired a new chief lifeguard and ordered lifeguard towers, chairs and other equipment. The city received six applications for lifeguard positions staff are working through the employee screening and hiring process.

The current scope of the program includes a chief lifeguard, two supervisor lifeguards and up to 10 lifeguards.

Safety Concerns

Since disbanding their lifeguard program in 2001, there have been 12 drowning deaths on South Haven beaches, according to a March 2025 beach safety report from United States Lifesaving Association.

The deaths include:

  • July 4, 2006: A 17-year-old boy who drowned in the evening
  • August 2009: 45-year-old Marty Jordan died saving his son, nieces and nephew at South Beach
  • July 2010: Jordy Graves, 17, drowned at South Beach
  • June 2012: A three-year-old girl drowned at South Beach
  • July 2012: A former lifeguard Sean Russell swam the channel and drowned while rescuing three people near North Pier
  • July 7, 2019: A 13-year-old boy drowned at South Beach in the afternoon
  • June 16, 2020: Jazmyn Patterson, 19, drowned while rescuing her 4-year-old cousin at South Beach
  • July 12, 2020: Jaedon Odunuga-Evans, 20, drowned at North Beach in the late afternoon
  • July 14, 2021: Anthony Diehl, 33, drowned while trying to rescue 7-year-old Elijah Britt, who also drowned that day
  • Aug. 8, 2022: 19-year-old Emily MacDonald and her boyfriend, 22-year-old Kory Ernster, drowned at South Beach in the afternoon

Of those 12 deaths came three wrongful drowning death lawsuits against the city, two of which are still ongoing.

Previous Safety Measures

A push for the city to reinstate the lifeguard program has been ongoing for years, with some safety measures implemented along the way.

After 45-year-old Marty Jordan died in August 2009 while rescuing his son, nieces and nephew at South Beach, a wrongful death lawsuit filed on his behalf in 2011 resulted in the "Marty Jordan Beach Safety Program," which mandated several safety measures such as callboxes, warning flags and signage.

In August 2019, Kameron Daugherty and Sean Russell proposed reinstating the lifeguard program to city council but to no avail. In 2020, the issue was brought up again and led to the creation of the Ad-Hoc Beach Safety Committee, but that also did not result in reinstating the program.

In 2022, Heather Jones created the still-active South Haven Ambassadors Program & Education, known as SHAPE, to improve safety at Lake Michigan through beachside water safety education.

Current Safety Measures

Presently, South Haven's beaches are "swim at your own risk." The city uses a warning flag system to grade swimming safety and, on red flag days, will close the water to the public and violators are subject to arrest. This is facilitated by seasonal beach monitors who, in 2025, ended their work on Labor Day.

There are also safety boxes with life rings along the piers, loaner life jacket stations on both beaches.

Program Leadership

New South Haven Chief of Police Adam DeBoer is taking the reigns on the lifeguard program. Once it's up and running, the head of the program will report to him, and he said he's confident in his ability to lead it.