April 2023 Newsletter
Little Traverse Bay Bands Undertaking Major Housing Projects
The Little Traverse Bay Bands of Odawa Indians (LTBB) will break ground this Spring on a new housing development on Second Street in Harbor Springs. The project will provide six homes for Tribal Elders and four multi-generational townhome units in its first phase. This neighborhood was historically an area where many Tribal members lived, but later moved away. Many current Tribal Elders grew up there. Over the past decade, the Tribe has purchased enough properties in the neighborhood to consolidate into the site for this “Coming Home” project. The development is located next to a park and within walking distance of downtown Harbor Springs, the Harbor Springs Market and Harbor Springs schools. The six homes for Elders are fully handicapped-accessible, designed for aging in place with wheelchair accessibility, and will have back patios that face each other on an internal courtyard, allowing opportunities for socializing. The ten units in the current phase, funded with $4 million through the American Rescue Plan Act (ARPA), are expected to be completed this year.
LTBB has also secured funding to expand its Mtigwaakiis, or “Standing of Trees”, housing development on Murray Road in Charlevoix County, near Bayshore. The plan is to build up to 38 apartment units, four of which would be ADA-compliant. The development aims to reduce the waiting list of Tribal members who qualify for low-income housing while also providing a better match with their housing needs. “LTBB Housing currently operates 40 rental units in Emmet and Charlevoix Counties,” said LTBB Housing Director John Givens. “Of those, 28 are 3-bedroom units designed for larger families, and only 3 are designed for single people. However, our current waiting is mostly 1- and 2-person households. Units at Mtigwaakiis will be smaller: 1 and 2 bedrooms plus several efficiencies.” After two previous competitive, but unsuccessful, applications, the Tribe was awarded $5 million for the project from the Federal Indian Housing Block Grant program in 2022, which will be matched with $1 million from LTBB. Construction at the Murray Road site is projected to begin this year.
In addition, through Odawa Economic Development Management Inc. (OEDMI), the Tribe is building a 50-unit apartment building at Victories Square in Bear Creek Township south of Petoskey. It is funded, in part, through Low-Income Housing Tax Credits (LIHTC) approved in 2021 by the Michigan State Housing Development Authority (MSHDA). LTBB is also in the early planning stages for a similar development on Tribal-owned property on Cemetery Road just north of the Odawa Casino, for which it also intends to request LIHTC funding.
CURRENT HOUSING PROJECTS IN EMMET COUNTY
DEVITT APPOINTED TO STATEWIDE HOUSING PARTNERSHIP
Fair Enough?
Fair Housing Month is observed each April to commemorate the landmark 1986 Fair Housing Act that prevents discrimination and exclusionary practices such as redlining in home ownership and rental markets. In the 55 years since it was adopted, regulations have clarified the worst practices with better specificity, but still only act as guardrails against outright exclusion. Does that mean everything not on the exclusionary list is fair? If fair is the lukewarm, underwhelming, mediocre version of excellent, then perhaps. But what if, as a community, we not only seek to avoid exclusion, but strive toward access? And what if we broaden our awareness of what might be limiting our residents’ access to community participation and quality of life?
Historically, planning and zoning ordinances were drawn up by local governments in the name of public safety and welfare. The ordinances created districts that segregated housing by use, style of structure, and even more problematic distinctions like income and race.
Now we know many of those strategies are antithetical to real community cohesion. Our communities can use planning and zoning ordinances to design quality of life IN, not zone it out. For example, pushing residential uses farther away from community centers decreases access for us to engage with each other at local places, events, and experiences. Distance separates people financially and emotionally. In a tourism-based economy like ours, that feeling of disconnection is amplified. Distance may make it impossible for us to participate in local government, volunteer opportunities, community celebrations, or even cultural or school events.
Creating opportunities for more people to live closer together has been proven to have a positive overall impact on communities, regardless of the obvious practicality of building where utilities are. Let us strive for Fair Housing in our community that extends beyond who we might be excluding into how we can be more welcoming.
HOUSING READY DIRECTOR UPDATE
HOUSING NORTH UPDATE
Housing North is a ten-county non-profit organization working to build partnerships and create pathways to develop housing opportunities in this region.
Here is an update on their activity:
Hired a new Housing Ready Director in Charlevoix County! Housing North now has local staff in four of the ten counties in our service region as well as the ability to assist on a per project basis in the rest of our Northwest Michigan communities.
Applied to MSHDA for designation as the Regional Housing Partnership agency for Region D (10 northern Michigan counties) under Michigan’s new Statewide Housing Plan. Regional Partnership organizations are meant to help steward funds and programs designated and informed by the newly appointed Statewide Housing Partnership.
Worked with communities interested in using one or more of the residential development incentive tools enacted by the State of Michigan earlier this year: PILOT (Payment In Lieu of Taxes), Neighborhood Enterprise Zones (NEZ), Residential Facilities Exemptions and Attainable Housing Districts.
Supported new and reformed State housing policy through the Housing Michigan Coalition (https://housingmichigan.weebly.com/).
Agreed to present at the Building Michigan Communities Conference in May and at the Community Development Association of Michigan’s (CEDAM) Small Town and Rural Development Conference in June.
Contracted with Bowen National Research to carry out a Regional Housing Needs Assessment: results should be available by early June.
PROJECT UPDATES
MICHIGAN STATE HOUSING DEVELOPMENT AUTHORITY (MSHDA) LAUNCHES REGIONAL PLANNING
75 people gathered in Traverse City last month to help MSHDA draft regional strategies around the State’s new Statewide Housing Plan. The session was co-hosted by MSHDA and the Community Economic Development Association of Michigan (CEDAM) and was facilitated by MSU Extension.
The Traverse City session was the first of 15 such events to be held around the state, one in each of the housing regions that MSHDA has identified. Emmet County falls into Region D which comprises the ten counties in northwest Lower Michigan served by Housing North.
MSHDA is convening these sessions to identify strategies to address Michigan’s housing crisis. Some of the strategies will be aggregated throughout the state, while some will serve the unique needs of each specific region.
Most members of the Little Traverse Bay Housing Partnership Leadership team, as well as other community leaders from Emmet County were on hand to participate in the planning session.
Michigan’s Statewide Housing Plan was recently unveiled and includes five statewide housing targets, eight priority areas, 37 goals and more than 130 strategies. You can review the plan here: MSHDA Statewide Housing Plan.
LOCAL POLICY UPDATES IN PLANNING & ZONING FOR EMMET COUNTY
LTBB HOUSING INITIATIVES
Andrea Jacobs
andrea@housingnorth.org
*Phase:
Predevelopment:
In the site plan and construction approval process.
Funding:
Identifying (usually multiple) funding sources.
Building:
Construction is underway
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.
At its meeting on April 10, 2023, the Emmet County Board of Commissioners approved an increase in the density allowed for multiple family residential buildings by the County’s Zoning Code to 12 units per acre with public sewer and/or water and 7.5 units per acre with a private system. Previously, density of only 7.687-10.89 or 5.125-7.26, respectively, (depending on the number of bedrooms) was allowed. Other amendments, including to allow residential dwellings in commercial districts and several clarifications in the Zoning Ordinance, were also approved. In addition, the County Planning Commission directed staff to review the Planned Unit Development-Residential Overlay and work on a text amendment to allow a density bonus under certain conditions.
In early March, Harbor Springs Planning Commission Chair, Bill Mulder, provided a status report to the City Council on the review of the City’s Zoning Code that is currently underway. From an analysis of state- and nationwide trends in housing needs and demographics in Harbor Springs, the Planning Commission found that there is a potential mismatch between the types of homes currently allowed and what residents are likely to want in the immediate future. To address this discrepancy, the Commission is evaluating possible structural changes, zoning approaches, and different types and sizes of homes. Its review will continue through 2023. The Planning Commission’s presentation can be found here.
Readmond Township board has authorized distribution of its Readmond Township Master Plan. The plan can be reviewed here. Comments may be submitted until May 26, 2023, to Beckett & Raeder, Inc.; c/o John Iacoangeli, FAICP, 113 Howard Street, Petoskey, MI 49770 or jri@bria2.com.
The Little Traverse Township Planning Commission has updated its Master Plan and submitted it to the Township Board for consideration. A link to a Draft of the plan is posted on the Township’s webpage here.
Resort Township is also undertaking a comprehensive update of its Master Plan. A public meeting to gather community input is planned in June.
A quarterly update from Emmet County Housing Ready Director Andrea Jacobs
Nikki Devitt, President of the Petoskey Regional Chamber of Commerce and a member of the Little Traverse Bay Housing Partnership (LTBHP), was appointed by Governor Whitmer to MSHDA’s new Statewide Housing Partnership. The appointment of Nikki Devitt to that role was announced last month by the governor.
Devitt will join 17 other appointees from around the state on this partnership that will serve as an advisory board within the Michigan State Housing Development Authority. One of the group’s tasks will be to advise MSHDA on the implementation of the Statewide Housing Plan which was recently unveiled.
“I am honored to be appointed and I am looking forward to having an impact with the Statewide Housing Plan,” she said. “We need solutions that lead to action to fix the housing crisis in Northern Michigan, and the Statewide Housing Partnership is a great opportunity for us to dig in and do just that.”
“Having someone on this partnership who represents rural northern Michigan is a big deal,” says LTBHP member Carlin Smith. “MSHDA programs often favor urban centers, so it’s important to have a strong voice who can speak on behalf of the housing needs of this region,” Smith added.
On a related note, Warren Call, President and CEO of Traverse Connect in Traverse City has been appointed to the MSHDA Board of Directors. Call has been a strong partner with the Northern Michigan Chamber Alliance and will now be able to speak on behalf of rural housing needs at the board level as well.
Nikki Devitt, IOM
President, Petoskey Chamber
LEADERSHIP LITTLE TRAVERSE SUPPORTS AREA HOUSING
Leadership Little Traverse (LLT) is a 9-month Petoskey and Harbor Springs Area Chambers of Commerce program that prepares civic leaders for service in our community. Each year, the LLT class chooses a community service project to complete over the course of the program.
The 2023 class decided to support Northwest Michigan Habitat for Humanity and dive into the complexities of the region’s housing crisis. We call our project “Windows of Opportunity”. We are taking this window of opportunity to raise awareness and $10,000 in funds for Habitat’s “Foundations For Our Future” campaign to construct 43 homes by 2025. We are also putting in some sweat equity by participating in a build day for one of these homes!
To raise awareness
We are making a video featuring people from across our community sharing their stories of the housing crisis. This video will be an advocacy tool for housing organizations to further community understanding and support for housing solutions in Northern Michigan. We will debut our video at the Chamber’s Hot Topics: Housing Town Hall event on June 12th at 3 PM at Crooked Tree Arts Center.
To raise funds
We are reaching out to community organizations, employers, and individuals with this opportunity to be part of the solution. Windows for one home cost $5,000, so our goal is to raise enough for windows in two homes.
We know housing is an issue for our community. With this project, LLT 2023 is taking the next step. We are taking action and amplifying the people and organizations that have worked for decades to create housing solutions for everyone who calls our region home.
Take this window of opportunity to join us by spreading the word and donating to our campaign at https://www.northwestmihabitat.org/llt .
Leadership Little Traverse Class of 2023
DEFINING AFFORDABLE HOUSING
We talk a lot about the need for more “affordable” housing in Emmet County. The commonsense definition of “affordable” means housing that meets our needs and can be comfortably managed based on our income. The generally accepted standard is that housing costs should consume no more than one-third of your income.
Here is a graphic that puts numbers behind the definitions to provide a real-life context for finding solutions. "AMI” stands for the median household/family income in a given region. Using the 33% standard, affordability means being able to afford a home that costs roughly 3X AMI. Emmet County’s AMI was $78,600 in 2022, putting us in the 80-120% AMI affordability category and the $188,00-$282,000 home sales market.
According to the “Residential Sold Information” distributed by the Emmet Association of Realtors, the median home sales price in Emmet County was $332,450 in February 2023, making an affordable home a stretch for many of our residents.
The graphic was prepared by Jim Tischler, Development Director at the Michigan Department of Labor and Economic Opportunity. The home sales price information is at emmetrealtors.com.
Emmet County AMI 2022 =- $78,600
LIHTC = Low Income Housing Credit
CDBG = Community Development Block Grant
MSHDA = Michigan State Housing Development Program
HOME = MSHDA’s first- time home buyer loan program
