You saw the numbers, you heard the need for housing, so what can be done to move things forward? One effort now reflected in statewide initiatives, is supporting rural communities in becoming Housing Ready. What does it mean to become Housing Ready? Being Housing Ready means that a community has the policies, structure, partnerships, and planning tools in place to support the development of accessible, affordable, and appropriate housing for all residents. Communities must review and implement best practices for housing. Using resources like the Housing Ready Checklist and a Zoning Reform Toolkit, communities can evaluate and reform local zoning regulations. This involves assessing zoning laws and making necessary changes to support diverse housing. Implementing these tools helps remove barriers to housing development and ensures that zoning aligns with local housing needs. This does not mean developing apartment complexes everywhere, but rather identifying where more density makes sense and fits the community.
Best practices for housing include using the data from the latest Housing Needs Assessment to inform the local master or comprehensive plan, ensuring long-term support for varied and affordable housing options. A Housing Action Plan (HAP) can help identify the resources available to support housing projects and outline the processes needed to secure them. It can also provide a strategic framework to decide where to utilize the specific tools, sites, and opportunities for housing development. By planning strategically, communities can incentivize and guide developers by highlighting where growth should and shouldn’t happen.
Becoming Housing Ready also means adopting ordinances or policies that support housing tools and allow access to resources for housing projects. These can include policies for accessory dwelling units (ADUs), density increases, and other incentives that make housing development more viable for below market rate housing. A housing ready community has created opportunities and a process for both forprofit and nonprofit developers to build affordable housing. This can include a request for qualifications/proposal for developers or establishing clear opportunities and streamlined processes for-profit and nonprofit developers to support the housing needs identified in the most recent study. This is crucial for affordable housing development.
I am not saying build housing anywhere and everywhere. But we can plan strategically using new tools and resources. Key changes are needed to allow more diverse housing options. There are a few communities that are becoming Housing Ready in Leelanau County and we celebrate those that are stepping up and making changes to support their year round residents. We are learning from our neighbors and other communities in Michigan about ways public private partnerships have brought more missing middle and small square footage housing projects ensuring everyone can have a safe and healthy home. There is always an opportunity to collaborate, learn and be innovative in our approach to housing. Becoming Housing Ready and adopting a clear action plan are a few of those opportunities. Let’s not be afraid of change, let’s embrace the opportunity to collaborate and support a thriving community.
About the author: Yarrow Brown joined Housing North in May of 2020 and has over 18 years’ experience working for a non-profit. Her background includes working with diverse groups of people from landowners to government employees, lake associations, township officials and many more.
