As state officials scramble to tackle a more-than-30% shortage in houses (Michigan housing crisis), city leaders across Metro Detroit have been voicing their concerns over possible state legislation that would strip more power over housing development control from local municipalities. While the state attempts to accommodate the need for tens of thousands of new housing units to meet the swelling population and affordability demands, some officials worry that a ‘one-size-fits-all’ approach would override the decades of local planning, investment, and community-driven development.
Michigan Housing Crisis
Homeland estimates suggest that the state of Michigan needs approximately 75,000 housing units in the form of single and multi-family houses to meet the demand. While the region has been relished with new investment opportunities, it has faced the following challenges:
- Increased population in Metro Detroit: In the past few years, families, and employees have been flocking to the Metro Detroit area for easy access to employment and suburban living.
- Significant lack of affordable housing: Due to pandemic repercussions, rising expenses, restrictive regulations, and tight zoning laws, the options available for people with low and moderate incomes have decreased severely.
- New suburban and exurban housing demands: Suburban and exurban areas like Sterling Heights, Troy, and Novi have been witnessing a rise in demand.
The supply issue has led to an increase in housing and rental prices, as well as an influx of competition for the available units. People intending to relocate or purchase new homes are dealing with immense pressure. At the same time, cities are struggling to manage growth in a manner that balances sustainability while retaining community character.
Local Control vs State Preemption
The critical problem is who should have the authority to decide what type of housing is built in which communities of Michigan. Traditionally, local government is given the prerogative of controlling zoning, land use, and granting development permits within their borders. This local control helps municipalities deal with:
- Community and neighborhood feedback
- Current infrastructure systems and their capability
- Preservation of the environment and local history
- Future growth and comprehensive plans for urban settings
Some sources from Lansing, however, are exploring new legislative proposals which aim at solving the housing gap by imposing statewide one-size-fits-all solutions. While the intention behind the legislation is to promote housing development, local officials are concerned that community-specific priorities are overridden with blanket solutions.
Gilmartin’s worries stem from his role as executive director and CEO of the Michigan Municipal League (MML). He states, “We’ve seen state governments across the country implement these measures. If Michigan does the same, it could hinder what communities have already built or plan to do. Cities are unique, and a cookie-cutter approach won’t work.”
Sterling Heights: A Case Study in Smart Growth
Sterling Heights stands out as an example of the best and worst of a local area’s housing policies. The city’s leaders have worked to improve the city’s housing options alongside residents’ quality of life since 2014, investing an estimated $140 million. The city focuses on fostering a certain level of controlled growth alongside enhancement in quality of life, all within the scope of long-range urban planning.
Mark Vanderpool, Sterling Heights City Manager, said that smart growth is very important. He emphasized, “There is not a lot of open space to develop, so smart growth development is of the highest priority. We have to listen to residents that live nearby, and if we have state legislation that preempts us from doing that, it’s not going to happen.”
Some of the smart growth initiatives in Sterling Heights are:
- Redeveloping underutilized parcels for mixed-income housing
- Parks and green spaces maintained during new development
- Public-private cooperation to boost infrastructure development alongside housing
These initiatives aim to maintain the character and sustainability of the city, as well as increase housing supply. “Abrupt state mandates that lack context of local realities are the very initiatives that have the potential to undermine development,” added Vanderpool.
The Michigan Municipal League and the MI Home Program
To deal with the challenges of local self-governance and the housing crisis, the Michigan Municipal League has created the MI Home Program. It is intended to merge the state and local authorities with private developers and community organizations.
Gilmartin explains, “The MI Home Program gets local units of government working with state government, private developers, and citizen-led groups together to make sure that we get great answers, community by community, on what makes the most sense in a particular place.”
Key components of the MI Home Program include:
- Collaboration: Local governmental bodies with state officials and private developers to address particular housing needs in the community.
- Flexibility: Participating communities still retain control of zoning and land-use planning while taking part in broader statewide initiatives to address the housing deficit.
- Equity and Accessibility: Affordability in housing programs ensure that there is no ghettoization of a single community.
- Sustainability: Supports environmentally and infrastructurally responsible development.
The program has reportedly garnered bipartisan support, reflecting widespread acknowledgment that cooperative approaches, as opposed to authoritative, one-size-fits-all policies, are more effective in addressing the housing deficit.
Historical Context: Local Autonomy in Michigan Housing Policy
Michigan is known for allowing communities to exercise control in planning land use for housing, tailored to their population, geography, and economy. City planning and zoning disputes are decided by local planning commissions and city councils, which ensures that new housing development fits within the community.
This approach brings the following advantages:
- Community specific: Communities can set local priorities for the types and locations of housing they want.
- Resident engagement: Local governance fosters civic engagement in planning and decision-making.
- Preservation of community character: Local governments may minimize incompatible industrial and commercial developments and safeguard areas that are of historical, environmental, or sensitive significance.
Critics of local control cite concerns about its potential to slow down development, create fragmented governance, or lead to exclusionary zoning policies. The challenge in this case lies in trying to accelerate housing construction while allowing local control and decision-making.
Economic Implications of State Legislation
Preemptive state legislation policies may lead to significant economic consequences:
- Development productivity: Consistent policies may expedite housing construction in jurisdictions where local government approval processes take a long time.
- Market confidence: Developers might favor absence of local regulations as policies that lower enforcement risks provide predictability and remove uncertainty.
- Conflict potential: Policies might create frustration among developers and state and local officials, which may lead to court disputes.
- Impact on neighborhood equity: Rapid or poorly planned development may influence neighborhood property values in a region, either appreciating or depreciating values.
Gilmartin highlights the risks: “If Lansing applies a blanket policy, communities may experience growth outstripping infrastructure limits, environmental limits, or resident pushback. Crucially, the housing supply is important. However, not at the expense of the community’s well-being.”
Strategic Investments in Housing by Sterling Heights
Sterling Heights has strategically invested to enhance housing. With an eye to residential demand, the city actively completed the following:
- Developed mixed-use infrastructure, combining residential, commercial, and recreational spaces for targeted neighborhoods.
- Upgraded public utilities and transportation to service new developments.
- Engaged residents in planning through community workshops and forums.
These measures demonstrate how well-planned and community-centric development maintained community cohesion.
The Importance of Public-Private Partnerships
Partnerships between the public and private sectors (PPP) are critical to fill the housing deficit. With the oversight of local government, private sector involvement enables municipalities to:
- Reduce financial liability for local governments.
- Streamline construction and project management.
- Build affordable housing through market rate developments.
The MI Home Program seeks to foster these partnerships while ensuring local expectations are met alongside state objectives.
Community Engagement and Preferences of Residents
The main issue with the state-driven approach is the possibility of sidelining residents’ voices. All local leaders support the view that residents’ perspectives are crucial to successful and accepted development of housing.
Vanderpool observes: “Listening to residents nearby is a must. Their input is essential in deciding what type of housing is most suitable for their area. Without that input, even well-meaning development can be met with resistance or simply fail to serve the community’s needs.”
Including residents in the early planning stages makes it possible to mitigate conflicts, improve the project’s results, and promote trust between citizens and their governments.
The Shift: Collaborative Solutions
While local and state governments are the primary stakeholders, the issue of the housing shortage takes precedence.
Improving cooperation between state and local governments is critical. Some of the main actions to enable effective development are:
- Keeping local control: Cities should have the power to make decisions on zoning and land use.
- Aiding from the state: Providing local governments with monetary rewards, targeted aid, and regulatory guidance can enable housing expansion without overriding local priorities.
- Stimulating ingenuity: Policies that permit communities to try new housing concepts, like mixed-income communities, accessory dwelling units, and green building practices, can promote creativity.
- Ensuring equity: Addressing affordability gaps and preventing longtime residents from being pushed out of the community must be a primary focus.
The MI Home Program embodies this teamwork effort with the goal of achieving housing solutions that balance state-level goals and local wisdom.
The Stakes for Metro Detroit
Metro Detroit is at a very risky point. Towns such as Sterling Heights, Troy, Novi, and Warren are experiencing a growing demand for housing alongside limited land to work with and outdated infrastructure. Healthy local self-determination, as well as thoughtful strategic planning, is extremely important to striking the right balance between growth and community character.
A bottom-up approach with a legislative focus may increase the supply of housing available, but experts caution that the absence of local context may result in:
- Development that is poorly integrated with the existing community
- Increased strain on public services and infrastructure
- Loss of community identity
In contrast, collaborative frameworks like the MI Home Program are much better positioned to balance growth and sustainability.
Conclusion
Like other areas in the United States, Michigan is experiencing a housing crisis that demands immediate action. However, in Michigan’s case, the solution is not simply increasing the number of houses available. Rather, it is well-planned strategic development that provides a balance between speed and local feedback, the existing infrastructure, and community needs. The leadership in Metro Detroit, especially Sterling Heights, favors strategies that uphold local control while working with state agencies and private developers.
Dan Gilmartin of Michigan Municipal League stated: “The most successful solutions are those that consider the needs of individual communities. Each city, town, and neighborhood has distinct problems and possibilities. To best ensure that we construct housing that meets the needs of residents, honors community character, and strengthens our State, we need a collaborative, flexible approach.”
Local lawmakers and residents will have to work together to ensure that new regulations to address the housing shortage will not impact the values and freedoms communities have throughout the state of Michigan.
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