Sep. 1—TRAVERSE CITY — A new land-use tool that will compile local zoning and infrastructure data to help identify housing opportunities across Grand Traverse County is in the works, thanks to the support of the county’s Economic Development Corp.
The county EDC board this month approved a $40,000 proposal from the regional housing agency Housing North to create a “zoning atlas” and growth corridor mapping project across the county. The county EDC will serve as the lead agency to help create the comprehensive digital database, working with partners that will include the University of Michigan’s A. Alfred Taubman College of Architecture and Urban Planning and the Michigan Association of Planning (MAP).
“I’m really excited about this — I think it’s great program,” EDC Board member Merek Roman said. “I’m looking forward to seeing the data in the county and (Traverse City) … having the data out there makes it a lot easier for developers to do business in Grand Traverse County.”
The local zoning atlas will be similar to a pilot project launched last year in Kent, Ottawa and Muskegon counties by the Michigan Association of Planners and U-M designed to bolster housing supply, access and affordability by modernizing local zoning codes. That project was supported by a grant from the Michigan Economic Development Corp., and the planning association will unveil the new three-county atlas at the annual Planning Michigan Conference coming up in Grand Rapids later this month.
Leah DuMochel, director of programs and communications at the MAP, said the atlas contains an analysis of more than 100 zoning variables so housing developers can more easily identify what types of housing projects are allowed where. It’s designed to compile the information into a single database to help identify specific areas where and what type of housing is allowed, and where various housing financial incentives may be available. DuMochel said there are numerous challenges facing communities as they attempt to increase their housing supply, but understanding what’s allowed and where is an important first step.
“In order to know how to fix a problem, you need to know what your conditions are,” DuMochel said.
Michigan is among more than 30 states in the U.S. that are working on zoning atlas projects, she said. It’s important for municipalities, along with their residents and businesses, to understand their zoning maps and zoning codes to help them identify ways to update their land-use rules to create more affordable housing opportunities. In Connecticut, for example, researchers learned that more than 90 percent of residentially-zone properties permitted only single-family homes on individual lots. In Michigan, housing data shows that about two-thirds of the state’s homes have at least three bedrooms or more, while two-thirds of the state’s households have only one or two adults in the home. Aligning available housing stock with the changing demographics of a region are key to creating a wider housing supply, she said.
“One of the things that the atlas does is help us understand where the opportunities are across the region,” DuMochel said. “There’s much to be done in making housing more accessible and affordable for everyone.”
The work will also include a process called “growth corridor mapping” that will identify underutilized, vacant and functionally obsolete properties in the county that have access to water and sewer infrastructure, to identify potential locations for more-compact housing development. Also planned is the creation of “growth modeling scenarios” across the county for those corridors using a 20-year window to project limited, moderate and aggressive development options that would include potential residential units under the three options, along with total projected investment value, along with new taxable value estimates.
Lisa Leedy, executive director of the Builders Exchange for Northwest Michigan, said such land-use and infrastructure data will be an invaluable resource to area builders and developers.
“It helps them sort out what’s available and where,” Leedy said. “I think it’s really a great opportunity for all of us to work together.”
Leedy, who also serves as the Fife Lake Township supervisor and is a former local zoning administrator, said local officials are frequently asked for information about zoning rules and infrastructure data so it will be an improvement to have it in one location. She’s also glad to see the Grand Traverse EDC taking the lead on a county-wide zoning atlas, as many of the area’s smaller units of government don’t have the staff and resources to take on such a comprehensive project.
“I would love to see something where we do pool our resources, rather than creating a big lift for some of our communities to do something like this,” she said.
Garfield Township Planning Director John Sych said he sees several benefits to a zoning atlas for elected officials, policy makers, business and development interests and the general public.
“I think it’s one of those resources that can provide a lot of overall value, both in local communities and in wider areas,” Sych said. “In some cases it will give a you a picture that we’ve never really seen before.”
Yarrow Brown, executive director of Housing North, said the estimated cost for developing the county-wide zoning atlas and growth corridor is $88,000. That means the organization will have to secure some other funding partners, potentially including Traverse City and some of the townships, state grant funds or local non-profit or community organizations. But Brown is confident that other partners will step up to support the project, and the organization hopes to formally announce the roll-out of the atlas in early fall.
Brown said Housing North is most interested in the impact a Zoning Atlas would have on local housing opportunities, but that the data will also benefit other land-uses including commercial, agriculture and other districts, and decision-making on where to expand local infrastructure. She hopes that eventually Housing North can create zoning atlas data across its 10-county service area, although some counties may be able to approach the work collectively to increase efficiency and lower the cost of the work to the member counties.
“It’s not just about housing, but housing is kind of the lynchpin,” Brown said.
One advantage the Grand Traverse County project will have is the experience that researchers gained in creating the 3-county atlas in the Grand Rapids area. DuMochel said it took a little over a year to complete that project, but the Grand Traverse County work should be completed much quicker.
“You learn a lot going through this process,” she said. “We expect it to go much more quickly, since we kind of have a template on how to do it.”
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