TC Amends I (Industrial) District uses to allow for more density of housing development, Michigan House Bills 4062 and 4063 introduced and Michigan REALTORS expressing concerns, and the Village of Elk Rapids wants your input on Master Plan Update Survey!
Welcome back to The GAD Top 3! This week features the Traverse City Commission removing building size limitations and modifying hours in the I (Industrial) District to allow for more density of housing, Michigan REALTORS® tracking and taking action on Michigan House Bills 4062 to 4063, and the Village of Elk Rapids has launched an online survey for their Master Plan Update and want your input!
1. TC Amends I (Industrial) District uses to allow for more density of housing development
At their regular meeting on Tuesday, Feb. 21st, 2023, the Traverse City Commission voted to amend the Traverse City Code of Ordinances, removing the building size limitation and modifying hours of operation for C-2 Neighborhood Center District uses allowed in the I (Industrial) District. This removed the restrictions that buildings can not exceed 6,000 square feet in gross floor area per floor and quiet hours between 10 pm to 6 am allowing for increased quantity and density of housing to be developed in I (Industrial) Districts. A developer is already inquiring about the city-owned contiguous lots at 535 Woodmere Avenue and 715 and 723 Bietner Street. View the detailed information here.
2. Michigan REALTORS express concerns after the introduction of Michigan House Bills 4062 and 4063
Michigan House Bills 4062 and 4063 have been introduced to expand the Elliott Larsen Civil Rights Act to include source of income as a protected class. These bills would mainly apply to landlords that currently choose not to participate in Section 8 housing vouchers or other assistance programs and advertise properties as such. This follows a trend of some other cities and states across the country to open housing availability to individuals with Section 8 vouchers and other voluntary housing assistance programs. Since its passage Congress has made Section 8 an optional program for landlords, this legislation would, in effect, mandate that rental housing providers accept Section 8 housing assistance and the additional provisions and protocols that the Section 8 housing assistance program requires. However, this legislation would, in effect, mandate that rental housing providers accept programs like Section 8 housing assistance and the additional provisions and protocols that programs like the Section 8 housing assistance program require. This legislation, if more broadly applied, concerns Michigan REALTORS® that the language as applied to the sale of a home does not clearly protect a seller from considering financial terms and conditions in presented offers. Oftentimes, a home seller will receive multiple offers to buy their home. To decide which offer to accept, the seller will review and weigh the financial terms of each contract. This non-discriminatory consideration of offers should be protected. Michigan Realtors is meeting with the legislators who sponsored the bills and the Michigan State House Judiciary Committee Chair to express concerns over the legislation.
3. Village of Elk Rapids wants your input for Master Plan Update Survey!
The Village of Elk Rapids Village Council and the Planning Commission recently launched an online survey to inform the community of the required 5-year update to the master plan, which guides the future growth and development of the village. The Village of Elk Rapids Planning Commission encourages all who live, work, learn, or visit Elk Rapids to take the survey through this link (https://www.surveymonkey.com/r/ElkRapidsMP). The survey will take about 20 minutes to complete and is open until Friday, March 31st, 2023.
