Leelanau Township and the Village of Northport will explore a joint planning and housing commission after resolutions were unanimously approved this month.
The resolution authorizing the exploration of a joint group states that it would be responsible for the study, planning, and potential operation of attainable and year-round rental housing. Both the township supervisor and village manager would report back to their respective boards concerning this task by June. It also gives authorization to take any steps necessary within the current budget constraints to accomplish this task.
“This came out of discussions about housing and what we variously refer to as attainable or workforce housing and the need for that,” said Northport Village Manager Jim Dyer at the council’s March 14 regular council meeting. “I don’t think there’s a study that has not recognized the need for that type of housing.”
“It’s not intended to supersede anything you guys are already doing in the planning commission. This is the exploratory part,” Leelanau Township Supervisor Mike McMillan said at the township’s March 12 meeting. “But we want to get this going, particularly when we can do this with the village because of the properties that we own exclusively from each other.”
According to the resolution, the 2019 Northwest Michigan Target Market housing study identified a future market need for 367 rental housing units and 301 owner occupied housing units within Leelanau County through 2025.
“The need for housing is most acute within the population at or below 80% of average median income for the Leelanau County area,” the resolution read. “The existence of attainable housing and year-round rental housing contributes to a stable workforce, which is essential for a year-round economy within the village of Northport and Leelanau Township… the village of Northport and Leelanau Township both recognize the need for attainable and yearround rental housing and wish to encourage and facilitate its development through a cooperative effort…” After meeting with the Frankfort city manager, Dyer said he and McMillan brainstormed possible things they could do to help jump-start the attainable housing process. One idea, reviewing areas that would be useful for attainable housing, could be tasked to a possible housing commission that could manage those plans if the property was publicly owned.
“We’re not talking about 7th Street as the location for this, there are other locations within the village and within the township that are being considered,” Dyer said at the council meeting. “The creation of this entity would permit us to have a group that explores that specifically… This does not create the housing authority — it directs me to explore with the township how we do it — What would be the structure that that entity would take? What would membership entail? Things like that.”
Housing North, a regional nonprofit focused on creating housing solutions, is an organization that Dyer said he believes will be essential in this process as well. Dyer mentioned in his March village manager report talks of a Housing North Partnership contract and arranging a meeting with representatives of the organization in the near future. In addition, he would be working towards possibly scheduling an attainable housing joint meeting with the township, noting there would be a significant emphasis on attainable grant funding.
“That’s one of the things that this group (joint planning and housing commission) could make recommendations to,” Dyer said. “It would function very much like the planning commission, but would be particularly tasked with the idea of pursuing attainable housing… This group could potentially recommend to you and the township to enter into contracts with them (other organizations) to construct whatever housing we’re going to do.”
