LANSING — Michigan Municipal League members and a group of bipartisan state legislators are pushing to carve out $160 million a year in the state budget to incentivize cities to make zoning and other changes to help build more houses.
Lansing Mayor Andy Schor said his city has made many of the recommended changes already, including reducing mandated parking spaces for developments, changing to form-based city codes that look primarily at how the building fits into the city rather than what goes on inside and allowing for alternative dwelling units, like tiny homes.
The plan has yet to be adopted by state legislators, who have not yet finishing negotiating this year’s state budget.
Schor said if the Legislature adopts the Municipal League’s plan, he expects Lansing would qualify for the funds, which would be up to $100,000 for a new home or $30,000 to make repairs, up to 30% of the repair costs.
The idea is to incentivize more than 10,000 new homes over five years of the plan, said Dan Gilmartin, executive director and CEO of the Michigan Municipal League. He said the proposal mirrors one adopted by Ohio as well as a plan that is getting unanimous support from a federal Senate banking committee.
If the plan is adopted at $160 million a year, it would mean $800 million over five years, impacting up to 2,000 homes a year.
The MML’s proposals outline a number of suggested local zoning reforms or other changes and would offer financial incentives, up to $100,000 for a new home, to reimburse communities and developers, said Jennifer Rigterink, assistant director of state and federal affairs for the League.
The plan is designed to preempt efforts by the state Legislature to have state-wide zoning reforms, said state Rep. Mark Tisdel, R-Rochester Hills.
Tisdel described the MML’s offer as a “carrot,” rather than the stick of code enforcement, that would help communities adopt changes by offering financing help for projects that qualify.
The League’s list of options is like a menu and the money would be available for communities that adopt half of the reforms.
That means that the cities, village and townships in state Rep. Samantha Steckloff’s district – she’s a Farmington Hills Democrat – would be able to say no many of the reforms but still be able to get the incentives.
Steckloff said having the option of adapting the reforms and rejecting some of them will help gain the support of a variety of communities, from rural to urban and wealthy to struggling.
The proposal would include:
The money would go toward projects that are sold or rented to people making 120% or less of the area’s median income and must be kept at those attainable prices for at least a decade.
Brian Farkas, director of workforce housing for Allen Edwin Homes, said his company typically builds about 850 homes a year in Michigan but has recently pledged to increase that by 30%, using existing incentives like tax-in-lieu of fees.
Over a decade, that means around 2,500 more homes, he said.
If the MML’s proposal is adopted, Farkas said he expects Allen Edwin Homes would ramp up their production “further and faster.”
Contact Mike Ellis at mellis@lsj.com or 517-267-0415
This article originally appeared on Lansing State Journal: Michigan legislators, mayors propose $800M plan for new, renovated housing
Reporting by Mike Ellis, Lansing State Journal / Lansing State Journal
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