The first of four Leelanau County housing focus group meetings took place at the Glen Lake Community Library in Empire with more than 25 residents gathering for the community discussion on Tuesday.
Upcoming community housing meetings are happening from 5 to 7 p.m. today at the Leland Library; Wednesday, June 12 at the Friendship Center in Suttons Bay; and June 13 at Northport Public School.
The focus groups are hosted by Housing Ready Resource Support for Leelanau County with Yarrow Brown of Housing North and Ryan Kilpatrick with Flywheel Momentum all participating in these meetings.
“The goal of these focus group meetings is to get feedback, input, and engage the community around housing so that we can create a housing action plan and also bring some key solutions and opportunities to the county,” Brown said. “We answered some key questions and also we did a mapping exercise to help people visualize or think about where different types of housing could go in the community.”
The meeting featured a presentation on the results of the Leelanau County Housing survey, while diving deeper into key topics related to housing.
The 2024 Leelanau County Housing Survey results were released at the end of May.
Here are some of the key statistic related to the 264-person survey:
• 98% of employers agree that a lack of affordable housing affects their ability to retain employees;
• 100% agree that housing developers should build affordable housing in Leelanau County;
• 78% agreed that current zoning and other local policies prevent developing housing options;
• 57% of respondents said $750 to $1,000 a month would be a budget range to pay for rent or a mortgage;
• 98% agree with government collaboration for units within Leelanau County;
• 92% said the overall cost of housing is too expensive;
• 95% agree that they need additional housing options in Leelanau County.
Surveyors said 88% of them live in a single family home in Leelanau County. The largest percentage of participants that took the survey have an average salary of $75,000 to $100,000 (22.5%).
“The survey results really just spoke to the huge need in Leelanau County and why these focus groups are so important because there is such a huge gap in what people make and what people can afford to live,” Brown said. “We are just looking for people to help bring their ideas and their feedback. I would say one of the biggest items that came across at the meeting was more accessory dwelling units or allowing for zoning for smaller square footage units ... We are definitely seeing some openness and willingness to look at some different programs or ways to help encourage year round housing.”
Tax abatements, infrastructure investments (sewer and water), allowed increased use of accessory dwelling units, support more housing density in some areas, and promote tiny homes or other small homes were approaches for exploring housing options that were most popular in the survey.
According to the Leelanau County Housing Dashboard, 2,335 new homes need to be added by 2027 with only 196 new housing permits granted in 2023. The current Median rental housing has a $966 median with 382 units needed. The median price for a home is $714, 600 with a for-sale gap of homes reaching nearly 2,000, according to the survey.
Brayton Farr, president of the Leelanau Peninsula Chamber of business and board member of the Leelanau Peninsula Economic Foundation, encourages the community to come to the meetings and discuss.
“(Results of the survey) It’s too soon to say at this point, unfortunately. It’s all pretty much raw data in the business survey and then the housing survey data,” Farr said. “We’re working through that and what these housing needs are going to look like.”
