Communities Step Up for More Housing

Guest Opinion

By Yarrow Brown | Dec. 16, 2023

It’s been an emotional, exciting, and impressive few months for housing in our region. Many thanks to those who showed up, spoke up, and learned more about our region’s housing needs.

Driving to my office the other day, I heard a quote on public radio from Jenny Scheutz, author of Fixer Upper and Brookings Institute researcher: “To keep people from being priced out—now’s the time for the local government to buy property and invest in affordable housing—before it becomes not affordable anymore.”

This rang true to me. In our region, many are resistant to government involvement in housing—I get it. But we need to involve all sectors to build more affordable units for those who live and work here year-round.

How can the local government support housing without being an owner? One way is through new housing tools that provide tax incentives or abatements. They can create housing commissions and provide more public housing.

Schuetz states: “Tight housing supply and rising housing costs are not just a problem for individual families; regional economies function better when workers across a range of incomes can afford housing within a reasonable commute of their jobs. Employers have trouble hiring and retaining workers in high-cost regions.”

I encourage our units of government to consider these opportunities and commend the ones diving in and making important community decisions. Our region has been waiting for these opportunities, and projects are “shovel ready” to test the new legislation.

We’ve seen huge housing wins in our region where municipalities are a key partner. Frankfort created a Housing Commission and partnered with the Frankfort Area Community Land Trust, a nonprofit developer, to identify opportunities for housing now being built. It’s making important zoning changes and developing new districts to encourage housing for year-round residents.

Traverse City identified underutilized properties or parking areas to repurpose for housing. It put out a request for proposals, and now its public Lot O is approved for up to 60 units in partnership with nonprofit developer HomeStretch.

Traverse City also created an updated Payment in Lieu of Taxes (PILOT) ordinance for two workforce housing projects downtown ensuring rents for those making 120 percent or less of the area median income (AMI). The expanded PILOT tool provides counties options to consider workforce housing projects. Grand Traverse County decided to develop its own policy, giving the two Traverse City projects the ability to move ahead.

The City of Manistee recently received Community Development Block Grant (CDBG) funding to support residents with home improvements. This, combined with some of the new housing tools, is going to help individuals and smaller-scale developers invest in the city.

Bellaire, along with the township and Antrim County, approved a Brownfield Plan for a housing project using the new Housing Tax Incremental Financing tool, or HTIF. At a full-house public hearing, the discussion and comments inspired me. Commissioners did their homework: They met with and listened to their partners who brought this tool to them for the final approval, and they understood how important a new year-round housing development is for Bellaire.

Northwest Michigan is making huge strides in housing. While there’s a lot to celebrate, there’s a long road ahead as well. HTIF is a new concept and uncomfortable for some, but is a major opportunity to help with one of the hardest roadblocks to affordable and attainable housing in our high-cost region: finding enough capital to build units that will be sold under market value.

We are talking about future tax revenue, which is paid in full by the property owner. Once all the essential services are made whole, money is reimbursed back to the owner to help offset the costs of the project. In this case, this tool will ensure rents will be for those making less than 120 percent of the AMI for up to 30 years.

While 30 years seems like a long time, it’s important to ensure these types of projects can be built in northwest Michigan. It’s not a developer handout and isn’t taking away taxpayer dollars. It’s a tool that’s been effectively utilized for many years for other types of economic development.

Before you react, do your homework. Think about your neighbors, your co-workers, and your essential workers. Think about the community you want to live in and what we can all do to make it better. Housing is just one part of a healthy community, but it is an essential part.

Yarrow Brown is the executive director of Housing North, a 10-county housing agency serving northwest Michigan.