Lawmakers, advocates push housing reform to address high costs and shortages

Housing has become so expensive, a Michigan legislator said recently, that prospective homebuyers hope for a recession, anticipating it would bring down prices. That glum prospect, along with ideas for legisaltive solutions, was the subject of a March 11 roundtable discussion on housing, hosted by the Mackinac Center for Public Policy.

“When I go online and read the threads, I see young people literally praying for a market crash, praying for us to be in a literal recession so that they can purchase a home,” said Rep. Kristian Grant, D-Grand Rapids.

Grant was joined at the event by Rep. Joseph Aragona, R-Clinton Township, who said that home prices have increased by more than $100,000 in some areas of the state in the last five years. Rents in some places have doubled, he said.

The two legislators discussed a package of bills they introduced aimed at lowering housing costs and increasing supply. Grant has sponsored House bills 5401, 5529 and 5582, which address housing and zoning. Aragona is the primary sponsor of House Bill 5532.

Lauren Strickland, executive director of Abundant Housing Michigan and a panelist at the roundtable, said her organization supports legislation solutions.

Tran Calvin, a Grand Rapids filmmaker and board member of Abundant Housing Michigan, also endorsed the legislation and spoke of his time living in Manhattan. He said his rent on the Lower East Side rose from $2,800 to $4,000 during his time in New York City.

Michigan’s current vacancy rate is 0.9%, said Calvin, who called that amount far below a healthy level of 5%.

The state lacks roughly 119,000 homes, said Calvin, who cited the Michigan Infrastructure and Transportation Association. This shortage, he said, could hinder efforts to attract new residents.

Local governments sometimes contribute to the problem, panelists said.

The city of Walker bans accessory dwelling units, which are small secondary housing units on the same property as a primary home, Calvin said. Kentwood, also in the Grand Rapids area, requires a minimum lot size of five acres in rural residential areas.

In Southeast Michigan, Rochester Hills requires one acre for homes in its lowest-density residential zone and half an acre in the next-lowest-density zone.

Detroit, Calvin said, has effectively locked out 82% of its vacant lots from development by lot size and setback requirements.

One proposal floated in the Michigan House would prohibit local bans on accessory dwelling units. Concerns that such a change would change neighborhood landscapes are overstated, Grant said, adding that 2% to 3% of residents would likely build these units.

In Detroit and many other old cities, many homes were built before modern zoning laws, meaning they do not meet today’s requirements and could require costly upgrades. Standards have changed, and a typical 1960s-era two-bedroom home would not be permitted under current regulations in some municipalities, Calvin told the roundtable audience.

Local governments require permits for housing, and Aragona said that delays in processing permit applications make it harder to bring new housing to market.

State officials are also implicated, Aragona said. The Michigan Department of Environment, Great Lakes, and Energy takes an average of three to four months to review a permit, said Aragona, who wants to speed up that process.