July 2024 Newsletter

2023 Housing Needs Assessment

Region D’s plan is based on the Housing Needs Assessment conducted by Bowen National Research for Housing North in 2023. The purpose of the assessment was to “provide government entities, area housing professionals, and other interested stakeholders with the base of knowledge to make informed strategic decisions on housing priorities and plans.” The data immediately became useful for creating Region D’s housing goals under the Statewide Housing Plan.

  • To see the results of the Housing Assessment, in summary and by county, go to https://www.housingnorth.org/housing-data

Michigan Housing Data Portal

The Michigan Housing Data Portal offers a broader, and perhaps more accessible take on housing issues in Michigan. The Michigan Housing Data Portal is a cooperative venture of the Michigan Municipal League (MML), Michigan State Housing Development Authority (MSHDA), and Michigan Economic Development Corporation (MEDC). It pulls together housing, demographic and economic data to help local community members and housing stakeholders understand key local trends and compare these trends to other cities and counties across the state.

HOUSING READY DIRECTOR UPDATE

HOUSING NORTH UPDATE

Thank You, Andrea.

Housing North announced Andrea’s departure in a recent newsletter and thanked her for her outstanding service, writing that “Andrea has been a beacon of energy and enthusiasm, always eager to support new initiatives and collaborate as a team player. Andrea's passion for ensuring housing readiness has touched many lives, and your vibrant spirit has made a lasting impact on our community. Your leadership and willingness to go above and beyond have been truly inspiring.”

Staff Transition.

Housing North has moved quickly to fill the position of Housing Ready Program Director for Emmet County and plans to make an announcement of a new hire in August. Housing North staff will work closely with the Little Traverse Bay Housing Partnership, Carlin Smith, the Emmet County HN Board Representative, and other County partners to steward the program during the transition.

2023 Northwest Michigan Housing Summit.

Save the date for the 2024 Northwest Michigan Housing Summit scheduled for October 24-25 at the Haggerty Center in Traverse City.

Housing North presents the Housing Summit annually to expand opportunities for networking, discussions, and exchanges with partners and supporters on housing solutions for our communities. Registration is expected to open in early August. See housingnorth.org for details.

Storytelling Event.

Housing North will be staging a Storytelling Fund-raising event from 6-8 p.m. on October 2, 2024 at the Gypsy Distillery in Petoskey. Titled “Close To Home,” the event will feature selected performers who will tell first-person stories that celebrate the many meanings of home. If you have a story to tell and would like to participate, contact Karen (Kabie) Stein at karen@heresaystorytelling.com.

Resources to Share.

Housing North regularly shares links to articles, reports, and analysis affecting housing in our region and across the country. One recent link to an interactive online financial analysis tool developed by the Terner Center at the University of California at Berkeley is well worth a read.

The tool demystifies the math behind the “pro-forma” calculations used to determine whether a project “pencils' ', i.e. revenues match or exceed costs. If the pro-forma shows that costs outstrip income, the project is likely never to happen. The tool is an important step towards forming a shared understanding of what it takes to build an adequate supply of housing and has the side benefit of educating readers on what a “pro forma” is and how it works.

So go to https://www.ternercenter.app/demystifying-development-math for a fun lesson in why some projects work and some don’t. The next step is to expand the tool to allow for reducing costs by, for example, land donations and/or increasing revenues by grants or low-interest loans or tax-benefit investing or income-based subsidies, that could result in more affordable rents or housing costs and thus more housing projects in more places to serve more people.

LOCAL PLANNING AND POLICY UPDATES

Harbor Springs Updates Zoning Code.

After two years of surveys, study, presentations, hearings, town halls, and City Council discussion, the Harbor Springs City Council voted unanimously on May 20, 2024, to approve Ordinance 439 to “amend, revise and restate” the Harbor Springs Zoning Code. The new zoning code, effective June 1, 2024, is designed to modernize the document, reduce the number of zoning districts from 17 to 9, and provide additional options for property owners to adapt to aging and changes in household structure.

Options include allowing a narrower minimum width for newly created lots, allowing more site plans to be approved by administrative committee rather than by seeking a special land use approval by the entire Planning Commission, allowing long-term rental of ADU’s, and allowing duplexes by right and triplexes by special land use in residential districts.

One Harbor Springs citizen group opposed to the changes is currently collecting signatures to a petition asking for the new code to be put on the ballot (weloveharborsprings.org). Another group has organized in support of the new code (weloveharborspringstoo.org). Clearly, zoning matters.

Area Planning Commission Coffee Group

Representatives of five area planning commissions near Harbor Springs met for coffee in late June to get to know each other and talk about each group’s priorities and projects. Little Traverse Township, West Traverse Township, Readmond Township, Friendship Township and the City of Harbor Springs participated.

Common topics emerged from the conversation: updating master plans, shoreline resiliency, blight ordinances and enforcement, the proliferation of storage buildings, short-term rentals, balancing the interests of full-time and seasonal residents, a shared desire to support and grow our year-round population, and the shortage of reasonably priced (“missing middle”) homes and apartments for working people at all income levels.

County issues new building permits for housing

Tammy Doernenburg, Emmet County Direction of Planning and Zoning, reports an impressive number of building permits for various housing developments in the County so far in 2024 as compared to all of 2023:

  • Single family: 88 permits issued so far in 2024; 93 issued for all of 2023.

  • Duplexes: permits for 6 units issued in 2024 to date; 12 for all of 2023.

  • Multi-family: permit for 60 units (Lofts at Lumber Square) so far in 2024; none in 2023.

STATE POLICY UPDATE

The MI Neighborhood Grant Program

Michigan State Housing Development Authority (MSHDA) has created a new program focused on small, incremental development and rehabilitation. The MI Neighborhood Grant is intended to be a simpler, more permanent funding mechanism that will be open for applications in April and in October each year. The amount of available funding varies by region as established by the State’s Regional Housing Plan. (Note that the amount available for our own Region D for this budget year is $3,004,000.)

Grant Resources in Housing

For a broader look at State grant resources for local housing development, go to the new MIFunding Hub at https://mifundinghub.org/ . The MI Funding Hub is a robust online resource that provides information on grants and funding opportunities, as well as tools for municipalities to successfully execute projects. The Hub is a great place to start learning about funding options and application tips and techniques.

INFORMATION MATTERS: HOUSING DATA SOURCES

Addressing housing needs in Emmet County and the State of Michigan means understanding the complexity of the problem and tracking progress toward building more homes for more people wherever they live. Here are some data sources designed to help you get a handle on what’s happening, in Emmet County and around the State.

Michigan Statewide Housing Plan

Michigan’s first statewide housing plan was released in 2022 to address the challenges limiting access to safe, healthy, affordable, accessible, and attainable housing across the state. The comprehensive Plan created a connected and collaborative housing ecosystem of Regional Housing Partnerships that set regional goals and track regional progress.

Region D Housing Plan and Progress

Emmet County is part of Region D which is staffed by Housing North. Region D includes the counties of Antrim, Benzie, Charlevoix, Emmet, Grand Traverse, Kalkaska, Leelanau, Manistee, Missaukee and Wexford. To track progress toward meeting Region D goals, Housing North created a dashboard of key indicators for each County in the Region. The data is updated twice a year.

  • To track regional and county progress, go to https://www.housingnorth.org/dashboard

  • For example: Consider housing affordability in Emmet County. The median household income is less than half of what is needed to buy a house in the County. “Gap” on this graphic means “units short”, as in we need 865 more rental units.

PROJECT UPDATES

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

*Phase:

Predevelopment:
In the site plan and construction approval process.

Funding:
Identifying (usually multiple) funding sources.

Building:
Construction is underway

Watch the Replay: Hot Topics: Housing Town Hall

The June 10th Hot Topics: Housing Town Hall sponsored by the Petoskey Regional Chamber of Commerce at the Crooked Tree Art Center addressed the severe workforce shortages exacerbated by a lack of affordable housing in Emmet County. More than 100 attendees heard from an informative and engaging expert panel that included representatives from the Michigan State Housing Development Authority (MSHDA), Michigan Municipal League, Office of Rural Prosperity, Housing Michigan Coalition, and Home Builders Association of Michigan.

Speakers shared information about statewide resources and programs designed to alleviate housing crises by providing data-driven policymaking, retrofitting existing buildings, encouraging innovative construction techniques and more. Audience questions and panel discussion topics included zoning reforms, legislative efforts to support housing development, and practical insights on navigating material costs and regulatory barriers.

Effective last month, I made a professional change from Emmet County Housing Ready Program Director for Housing North to Project Manager for Northwest Michigan Habitat for Humanity. Housing Ready work is imperative to our economic and community viability and has been interesting, creative and strategically challenging since I began two years ago.

I am proud of my work with Housing North and continue to be inspired by the efforts of local units of government and community members to understand the messages, barriers and strategies involved in increasing housing choice and local housing inventory. I will continue to work with the Little Traverse Bay Housing Partnership and support the next individual to take up Housing Ready work for Housing North. Thank you to the LTBHP and Housing North for giving me the chance to engage with our Emmet County communities in such a meaningful way.

I am thrilled to join the staff of Northwest Michigan Habitat for Humanity which has been named the leading Habitat Affiliate in the State of Michigan, to help amplify their ongoing efforts to build exceptional homes at an aggressive pace. I love being directly involved in the impact on local residents and witnessing a neighborhood become a community. I hope to help Northwest Michigan Habitat for Humanity create many more communities, small and large, throughout Emmet and Charlevoix County.

The table will be updated regularly on the LTBHP website at www.ltbhp.org.

The program is meant to be more accessible to smaller local government units and independent developers – such as those in northern Michigan -- who may be less familiar with grant writing and reporting, ideally enabling them to take on housing projects in a timely manner. Mi Neighborhood is available to local government and non-profit and for-profit entities. Projects must meet requirements regarding income limits and financial structuring.

Since this is such a new program, inevitably, there have been challenges. MSHDA staff are working through issues that became apparent in the first April 2024 round and offer regular virtual information sessions for potential applicants to keep them informed of any changes. Those of us in the housing and community development space are watching this program closely hoping to see it quickly evolve into a regular source of $40,000-$100,000 per unit for the kind of in-fill development we are trying to support. For more information go to MI Neighborhood (michigan.gov).

The session highlighted local housing initiatives and success stories such as the Lofts and Pine Pond that demonstrate effective strategies for community action. Generously sponsored by DTE Energy and Comfort Keepers, with additional support from Roast and Toast and Alpine Media, this town hall underscored the community's commitment to collaborative housing solutions.

To keep the momentum going, watch the full event video (link below) and share it widely. The more you learn, the more you can help foster a broader understanding of one of the most pressing challenges in our community. Your participation in the ongoing dialogue is essential. Whether you are advocating for policy changes, engaging in community planning sessions, or simply educating yourself and others about possible solutions, every action counts. Together we can build momentum and make real progress toward securing affordable, accessible housing for everyone in Emmet County.

Watch the Housing Town Hall Here.

Andrea Jacobs Moves from Housing North to Habitat for Humanity