April 2024 Newsletter

Several new housing developments in our area are ready (or almost) for occupancy.

None would have happened without local government changes in zoning, public-private partnerships in funding, and, most of all, the commitment of dedicated people determined to make a difference. Use the contact information provided to learn more. Congratulations all around!

HOUSING READY DIRECTOR UPDATE

HOUSING NORTH UPDATE

REGION D’S FINAL HOUSING PLAN

Following Michigan’s adoption of a Statewide Housing Plan in 2022, Housing North was selected to facilitate Region D’s Regional Housing Plan in keeping with State goals. The process started in June of 2023 when the results of a 10-County Housing Needs Assessment (HNA) were released. The HNA helped to inform the goals, strategies and Key Performance Indicators (KPIs) in the plan, using the Statewide Housing Plan as a guide. View Here.

In July and August of 2023 two stakeholder meetings were held to create the working groups and steering committees for the Regional Housing Plan and develop the draft plan. One virtual community input session was held in August and a community survey was created and open for eight weeks. Housing North staff, Steering Committee Members and stakeholders also had one-on-one conversations with individuals, organizations and partners who could not participate in one of these events or the survey. For links to the working documents, view here.

The group chose three priority areas for our region:

• Housing Ecosystem

• Ending and Preventing Homelessness

• Housing Stock

READY FOR RESIDENTS!

Meadowlands:

Northwest Michigan Habitat for Humanities’ Meadowlands subdivision in Alanson is a community of 32 manufactured homes under construction, with 43 planned by 2025.

Meadowlands homes are built with quality, care, and affordability in mind, are ADA accessible and come with natural gas and new appliances.

Meadowlands offers Northern Michigan residents the opportunity to own their own home and make an investment in Northern Michigan.

For more information, contact: Emily Boehm, Program Service Manager, Northwest Michigan Habitat for Humanity at 1840 M-119, Unit 1, Petoskey, MI 49770. Phone: 231-348-6926; email: emily@northwestmihabitat.org.

The City of Petoskey has begun a comprehensive review of its zoning ordinance with a view to identifying changes that can help make workforce housing more affordable.  The review, which is funded in part by a $50,000 Housing Readiness Incentives Grant from MSHDA, kicked off with a joint meeting of the City Council and Planning Commission on April 6.  At this meeting, City Planner John Iacoangeli identified 18 areas for possible discussion. A special website—http://www.petoskeyzoning.org –has been put together which includes a recording of the April 6 meeting, the City’s Planner’s presentation, many related resources, and a form for providing input and comments.  During the process, which will extend throughout this year and perhaps into 2025, draft revisions will be posted on the website for comment, quarterly updates will be provided by the Planning Commission to City Council, and several events to gather public input will be held.   Readers (within and outside the City) are encouraged to check out the website and actively participate in this important process to encourage positive changes in the City’s zoning ordinance.  

The Emmet County Board of Commissioners approved several text amendments to the County’s Zoning Ordinance on April 18. These include PUD consolidation: the two Planned Unit Development Articles (Articles 16 & 17) within the Zoning Ordinance are consolidated into one PUD Article, so the process will be the same regardless of the type of PUD proposed. There are density and height bonuses incorporated in the amended article.  Another change rezoned all P-T Parking Transition parcels located in East Bay View—all or parts of 17 parcels located on the southerly side of Old Tannery Creek Road in Bear Creek Township—to B-1 Local Tourist Business.  A separate amendment allows multiple types of housing within the B-1 Local Tourist Business district—including multi-family, triplex, and quadplex dwellings.  The text and background materials for these amendments, and others related to planning and zoning, can be found in the agenda packet for the April 18 Board of Commissioners meeting.  
The Harbor Springs City Council continues to discuss a set of Zoning Ordinance amendments proposed by the City’s Planning Commission.  The Harbor Light newspaper has included detailed coverage of these discussions, and the most current information on this process can be found there.  See https://www.harborlightnews.com/ for excellent descriptions of the ongoing discussion.

Proposed Changes in the Michigan Housing Code Impact Affordability

Jeff Grantham of Grantham Building and Remodeling, Petoskey, and President of the Home Builders Association of Michigan (HBAM), spoke to a recent meeting of the Housing Partnership about proposed changes in the revised Michigan Residential Code (MRC) that have the potential to affect the cost of building a home. The revised MRC combines all the various codes into one document and serves as the sole uniform code for residential construction in Michigan. 

HBAM lists the most potentially costly proposed changes to the MRC as: 

• Mandatory fire suppression (sprinklers) in ALL residential homes.

• Arc fault circuit interrupters (AFCI’s) in every room.

• R-60 insulation in ceilings/attics.

• 2 X 6 framing.

• Inch-thick insulation on outside/exterior walls.

• Redundant interior insulation on duct work already inside conditioned space.

Depending on the size and location of a home, HBAM argues that these changes could add $20,000-$40,000 more in home production costs.  Consequently, HBAM points out that for every thousand-dollar increase in the cost of a home, some 5,000 families are priced-out, potentially preventing more than 100,000 families from buying a home. The HBAM has encouraged public comments to the Governor and State Bureau of Construction Codes about the negative impact of these proposals.

Other local builders tell us that they are less concerned, arguing that the framing and insulation changes are already standard practice and that the calls for fire suppression and circuit-breakers, while ideal, have never made it through previous review processes because of the prohibitively added cost.

The Housing Partnership has not taken a position on the proposed changes, but we do want to keep the local housing community informed that these discussions are going on.  As we have noted before, when it comes to housing (as for many other aspects of community life), everything is connected.  Zoning codes, construction codes, financial rules, training options – it all can impact the challenge of building more homes for the residents of Emmet County. 

Current Housing Projects in Emmet County

Housing North, Northwest Michigan’s Rural Housing Partnership, serves ten counties in the region by building awareness, influencing policy, and expanding capacity so communities can create housing solutions

Priority Goals- Region D

1. Increase access to stable and affordable quality housing options for households with extremely low incomes.

2. Increase the supply of the full spectrum of housing, including workforce housing and missing middle that is affordable and attainable to Michigan residents.

3. Increase the efficiency and effectiveness of the housing ecosystem by enhancing collaboration on housing among state agencies, philanthropy, local governments, Tribal Nations, education, and the wide variety of private-sector organizations that make up the housing ecosystem.

4. Expand the use of equitable and holistic local planning and zoning practices to increase housing supply.

*Phase:

Predevelopment:
In the site plan and construction approval process.

Funding:
Identifying (usually multiple) funding sources.

Building:
Construction is underway

Town Hall in June tackles Housing Challenges in Emmet County

n Emmet County, the pressing issue of housing shortages impacts our workforce and residents alike. As we grapple with this challenge, it's clear that collective action is needed.

Join the Petoskey Regional Chamber of Commerce on Monday, June 10th from 3:00 – 4:30 pm at the Crooked Tree Arts Center in Petoskey for a special Town Hall event dedicated to addressing our housing crisis. We'll delve into the specifics of the challenges facing Emmet County, exploring both local and statewide solutions.

“The critical link between housing availability and our workforce's vitality cannot be understated,” said Nikki Devitt, President/CEO of the Petoskey Regional Chamber of Commerce. “A thriving community relies on the stability and security of its residents. By addressing housing shortages and fostering collaboration for change, we not only support our businesses but also cultivate a stronger, more resilient Emmet County for generations to come.”

Andrea Jacobs
andrea@housingnorth.org

Housing North: Offering insights into local housing challenges and initiatives.

Michigan State Housing Development Authority: Providing information on statewide programs and resources.

Michigan Municipal League: Sharing perspectives on policy initiatives and legislative efforts.

Home Builders Association of Michigan: Discussing the role of construction and development in addressing housing shortages.

Housing Michigan Coalition: Advocating for comprehensive solutions to housing issues statewide.

Now that we have Housing Ready communities, willing development teams, and identified appropriate sites, the next step is to make the projects “pencil out.” What do we mean by that? It means that to be viable, the units need to be sold for more than the cost to build so that builders, developers, and financiers, each make enough of a profit to be worth their time and investment.

When we try to be mindful of who we want the future resident to be and try to end up with reasonable affordability, a gap can grow between the build cost and final price. We can reduce that gap by looking for ways to lower the costs for land, labor, and materials. We can increase efficiency with density or scale and reduce timelines to save money. Philanthropy, grant dollars, and even tax incentives can reduce the gap for some projects but can be burdensome and slow even if they are applicable.

In Emmet County, we know that all these measures help but still may not be enough to make an affordable development project viable. Increased interest rates over the past few years have made difficult “missing middle” projects all but impossible, stalling the construction of hundreds of potential homes in our area.

Given all these demand costs, often driven by factors we can’t control, we need access to low-interest, patient, preferably local capital to make housing happen in our area. For example:

• InvestMitt, a local real-estate focused investment cooperative, might be one solution. (contact Derek Shiels at d.r.shiels@gmail.com to learn more.)

• A Regional Housing Fund, or rapid response fund through Housing North might be another way for us to deploy funding with more dexterity.

• A local banking partner might create a revolving loan fund for construction like Charlevoix State Bank did. See http://chx-housing.org for more information.

• The City of Frankfort also worked with their local bank to create a loan fund that was secured by CD’s from local residents. See http://frankfortlandtrust.org.

• Units of government can also create and steward Housing Trust Funds. See http://housingnorth.org for their webinar on the topic.

Money matters and local money can perhaps matter the most. Look around for opportunities in your own communities to lend a hand.

Contact Andrea Jacobs at andrea@housingnorth.org for more information about a particular project. The table will be updated regularly on the LTBHP website at www.ltbhp.org.

Here's what you can expect:

Insights into Demand: Gain a deeper understanding of the total housing demand in Emmet County, shedding light on the scope of the issue.

Local Challenges: Learn about the unique obstacles our community faces when it comes to housing affordability and availability.

Statewide Opportunities: Discover opportunities for housing solutions at the state level, exploring policy initiatives and programs that can benefit Emmet County.

Project Updates: Stay informed about ongoing housing projects within our community, hearing firsthand about the progress being made to address housing demand.

Don't miss out on this vital conversation. This event is free and open to the public. Register Now and join us on June 10th for an informative and engaging event that promises to provide crucial updates and insights into our housing landscape. 

Hot Topics is a free program of the Petoskey Chamber open to the community highlighting conversations on today’s critical issues, and is sponsored by Comfort Keepers. This program is part of the chamber’s Winfluence programming designed at building better businesses through education and enrichment and is sponsored by Odawa Casino.