Grand Traverse County Commission Adopts New Point of Transfer Septic Regulation Effective Jan. 1st, 2026; Traverse City Strategic Action Plan - Community Summit Held on May 19th; Aspire North REALTORS Approved to Receive Consultant Support for an Action Plan to Meet Traverse City Housing Needs
After many meetings and discussions, this past Wednesday, May 21st the Grand Traverse County Commission adopted a new Point of Transfer Septic Regulation that will be effective on January 1st, 2026 incorporating a lot of important amendments requested by Aspire North REALTORS! The City of Traverse City releases their Strategic Action Plan at a Community Summit. Aspire North REALTORS receiving consultant support this fall to develop an action plan to meet the housing needs of the City of Traverse City.
1. Grand Traverse County Commission Adopts New Point of Transfer Septic Regulation Effective Jan. 1st, 2026
This past Wednesday, May 21st at the Grand Traverse County Commission Regular Meeting the Grand Traverse County Commission adopted the Grand Traverse County Regulation for the Evaluation of Onsite Water and Sewage Disposal Systems. As covered in numerous GAD Top 3s (Oct. 21st, 2024; Dec. 9th, 2024; Jan. 27th, 2025; Feb. 17th, 2025; Feb. 24th, 2025; April 28th, 2025; and May 19th, 2025) since last fall the Grand Traverse County Health Department formed an Ad Hoc Committee, which included Aspire North REALTORS and has been very receptive to Aspire North REALTORS feedback throughout this process.
In the lead up to this May 21st Grand Traverse Commission Meeting, at Aspire North REALTORS, we took a look and reviewed the changes made to the April 23rd, 2025 version of the regulation (pages 8 to 16, text that was removed from April 23rd version to May 21st version are in red) in writing the May 21st version of the regulation (text changes highlighted, additional suggested edits written in) that was passed at the May 21st meeting. We also compared the adopted regulation to changes requested by Aspire North REALTORS in a Feb. 19th letter (changes accepted noted by a checkmark and declined changes noted with an “X”) and found that 6 of our 11 requested changes made it into the regulation adopted. Of the changes that were not included, Aspire North REALTORS provided additional suggestions to the regulation (via public comment at the May 21st meeting and by email) which the Grand Traverse County Health Department is receptive to considering. These suggested changes are listed below, in case you can’t read my handwriting in the May 21st version of the regulation above 😊
- Page 2, Section III, E - potentially alter the word “wastewater” to “sewage” since wastewater is not defined by the Regulation and sewage seems to be the preferred verbiage.
- Page 3, Section III, P – add a comma between “ponds” and “streams”
- Page 3, Section IV, C, 1 – delete second “ed” on “evaluateded”
- Page 4, Section IV, C, 2 – make “a” into “an” before “OWSS”
- Page 8, Section V, C, 5 – add a “s” to “evaluator”
- Page 8, Section VI, B, 2 – take out “or” and add a comma between “performance bond” and “cash.” Add a comma after “cash” and add the text “or approved financing”
- Page 9, Section VII, C, 1 – add a comma after the first “Regulation” on the first line, then add the text “the alleged violator shall be contacted by delivery or by registered mail within fifteen (15) days after an alleged violation is discovered prior to any citation.” Then capitalize “The” before “Health Officer”
We would like to thank the Grand Traverse County Health Department, the Grand Traverse County Commission, and especially our Aspire North REALTORS members (including Matt Dakoske, Kara Gelven, Pam Mork, Nan Ray, Peter Read, Rick Stein, and Clint Wheeler) who were a part of reviewing and providing edits to this regulation! Before this regulation becomes effective on January 1st, 2026 there will be Grand Traverse County Health Departmental Guidelines created which Aspire North REALTORS has been invited to assist in drafting. Look forward further updates in the GAD Top 3 as this process continues forward.
2. Traverse City Strategic Action Plan - Community Summit Held on May 19th
This past Monday, May 19th Future IQ held a Community Future Summit completing the Traverse City Strategic Action Plan process that began in October 2024. Full cover for the event was provided in a recent Traverse City Ticker article. As an attendee my biggest takeaway was that Traverse City survey participants believed that the highest impact action step that could be taken by the City of Traverse City would be to “Encourage more full-time residents living in core neighborhoods.” This would appear to be a natural area where Aspire North REALTORS could provide assistance and leads into the third GAD Top 3 item this week…
3. Aspire North REALTORS Approved to Receive Consultant Support for an Action Plan to Meet Traverse City Housing Needs
Early in March of this year, Aspire North REALTORS was approved to be a 2025 participate in the National Association of REALTORS Transforming Neighborhoods program! The Transforming Neighborhoods program - through a collaboration of the National Association of REALTORS and The Counselors of Real Estate (CRE) Consulting Corps - provides analysis, strategies, and actionable recommendations to solve today’s top-of-mind real estate challenges. CRE Consulting Corps will provide analysis and actionable recommendations to increase housing options in Traverse City based on the housing needs for the City of Traverse City by 2027 (1,010 rental housing units and 1,192 for-sale housing units) as determined in the 2023 Housing Needs Assessment. The CRE Consulting Corps has completed numerous action plans around the country providing real estate guidance to increase housing production including in Billings, Montana; Huntsville, Alabama; Spokane, Washington; and Tucson, Arizona among others.
CRE Consulting Corps team of consultants will be travelling to Traverse City from October 27th to October 31st, 2025 to tour the City of Traverse City followed by two to four days of interviews, data collection, analysis, and evaluation. An exit briefing will be provided summarizing the team’s findings, conclusions, and recommendations. A written report detailing their findings, conclusions, and recommendations presented will be submitted 45-60 days following the CRE Consulting Corps team’s oral presentation of findings. We are excited to benefit from this high-level of expertise to assist the City of Traverse City in determining an action plan to meet their housing needs. Additional information will be made available as this process continues forward, any questions contact me at connor@aspirenorthrealtors.com.
