Across Northwest Michigan, the housing crisis is no longer a distant policy debate—it’s a daily reality. For years, local leaders have asked: What tools do we have to fix this?
Finally, the answer is beginning to change.
Led by Housing North advocates and a coalition of housing stakeholders across the state, communities now have new options to support workforce and attainable housing that have never existed before. These include updates and expansions to tools like Payment in Lieu of Taxes (PILOT), Housing Tax Increment Financing (TIF), the Residential Facilities Exemption, and the Attainable Housing Facilities Act. These policies give local governments—especially smaller ones—concrete ways to support housing development without blowing up their budgets or overburdening taxpayers.
We’ve written extensively about these new housing tools before, so we’ll spare details in this article. Getting these new tools passed into law was one achievement—but a major question still lingered: “Will any communities actually use them?”
We were especially curious about whether small and rural communities — the villages and townships for whom these laws were painstakingly crafted to ensure they would not be left out — would use them in meaningful ways.
In 2025, we’ve seen some major breakthroughs. These tools aren’t just sitting on the shelf. They’re being adopted and used — and not just by the region’s larger cities like Traverse City, Cadillac, and Petoskey. Townships, villages, and small communities across our region are stepping up and putting them to work.
Take, for example, Leelanau County’s Leelanau Township, which recently adopted a PILOT ordinance to help advance housing for their community. They are working collaboratively with the Village of Northport, who is also working on a PILOT and Attainable Housing District to attract small-scale development opportunities. The City of Frankfort in 2023 created districts for both the Residential Facilities Exemption and the attainable housing district and just recently hosted an information session for their community. Frankfort has been a major resource for other northern Michigan communities to follow.
We are also seeing counties step up and pass resolutions supporting these tools like Benzie County. Across the region, more townships are exploring Housing TIF as a way to support the infrastructure needed for new homes—without taking dollars away from other local services.
Cleveland Township in Leelanau County is considering a PILOT ordinance, and in the process we have been able to draft a model ordinance that will work for township and villages. Additionally, East Bay Township in Grand Traverse County is exploring the Residential Facilities Exemption for a proposed multi-unit project in their township. If they do so, they will become only the second
This may sound technical, but the impact is real. These tools help unlock projects that otherwise wouldn’t pencil out in rural markets. Developers can reduce their risk. Local governments can retain some control and negotiate for the type of housing their communities need. And most importantly, we get homes built—homes that regular working people can afford.
That’s critical because the housing crisis we face isn’t caused by a lack of effort or awareness. It’s systemic. Our region’s construction costs are high, land is limited, and local governments—especially smaller ones—often lack the staff and resources to keep up with fast-moving development opportunities.
The result has been a development gap: the math simply doesn’t work for many types of housing that our region desperately needs. These new tools help fill that gap. They lower barriers, align incentives, and give communities a say in shaping projects. In a region like northwest Lower Michigan, with dozens of small townships and villages, this kind of flexibility is essential.
But we also can’t lose sight of the broader picture: housing isn’t just a local issue—it’s a regional one. What happens in one township affects the next. When housing is unaffordable in one county, pressure spills into another. That’s why it’s so important that communities across the region are acting in parallel.
When townships from Wexford to Emmet to Benzie begin using consistent tools, it builds momentum and sends a clear message: We’re serious about solving this crisis together.
Of course, adopting these tools is just a first step. For them to be effective, local governments need support—technical guidance, planning capacity, and seed capital to launch projects. Regional organizations like Housing North have played a critical role in helping communities navigate these policies and move from interest to action. But more is needed. The state can help by continuing to fund housing readiness efforts, support local planning, and prioritize infrastructure grants that make these housing projects possible.
To be clear: there is no silver bullet. No single policy or funding stream will solve the housing crisis overnight. But the actions of these small communities show what’s possible when local leaders have the tools — and the will — to act. It’s a powerful reminder that solutions don’t always start in the big cities or state capitals. Sometimes, they start at a township board meeting, with a handful of citizens, a clear-eyed goal, and a vote to do something different.
Northwest Lower Michigan has a long way to go, but we’re on the right path. Let’s keep supporting our local leaders, lifting up regional collaboration, and putting every available tool to work. Because when our communities can house the people who live, work, and serve there—everyone benefits.