TRAVERSE CITY – A plan to attract more attainable housing in Traverse City was delayed Tuesday night by the City Commission while more details of the plan are solidified.
The program would create an Attainable Housing District in the city and provide tax breaks for qualifying homeowners who develop or rehabilitate up to four rental housing units.
A public hearing on the plan Tuesday night drew an overflow audience. More than 30 people spoke at the hearing, with most of them voicing opposition.
After listening to the public comments, the commissioners tabled action on approving the district until the commissioners’ October Study Session.
The primary opposition to the plan appeared to be the lack of details on how it would be implemented.
“You’re putting the cart down the road with no horse in sight. It’s subsidized housing. Not a good idea,” said Traverse City resident James Church.
Commissioners agreed they needed to know more about how the program would be implemented. They needed to know how much the program could cost the city in lost tax revenue, which homeowners would qualify, and what household income level would be targeted for qualified renters. The program could help address housing affordability for middle- and low-income families.
“It’s harder for people to move out of homelessness into low-income housing,” Traverse City Mayor Amy Shamroe said. “It’s harder for low-income people as they find more stability and success to move into the next layer because there’s just nowhere to move in our market.”
“There’s no in-between,” Shamroe said. “So making housing more available at all the different levels is something that we need to do.”
The goal is to make it easier for people who work in the city and not have to drive long distances to get to their jobs, she added. Because of that concern, other commissioners said this proposal must be addressed and not forgotten.
“There are people that live and work in our community but are paying excessive rates for rent that they can’t afford,” said Commissioner Mitchell Treadwell. “For a nurse or a schoolteacher or a retail clerk on Front Street, it’s a lot harder to save and to get to a point where they’re able to move into a house that they can actually call their own.”
Public comments raised concerns about parking in the neighborhoods, population density in the city, traffic congestion, and the environmental impact.
“You’re changing our community,” Traverse City resident Jeff Watts told commissioners. “”It’s just not the same. It’s putting more people in. It is on a street that can’t handle it. It’s very frustrating.”
Shamroe said the delay in designating an Attainable Housing District should not be a problem in implementing the program – if they decide to move forward. Instead, the delay will allow them to address public concerns and provide more details that could include limiting the number of applications they accept.
“This is going to happen in 10 places or 15 places, or whatever the number might be, in the whole city,” she said. “That’s a little bit easier for people to digest, and I think it’s easier for us to understand, because this is a new process.”
Shamroe said they won’t know what the cost would be in lost tax revenue until they know how many projects will be accepted and the cost of those projects.
This issue will next be discussed at the city commissioners’ study session at 7 p.m. Oct. 12 in the commission chambers on the second floor of the Governmental Center. The public is welcome to attend.