Acme Township Planning Commission Expresses Intent to Allow ADUs to Increase Housing Options, Antrim County Expecting Grant Awards for Broadband Very Soon!, and Promote How Your Clients Can Save for Homeownership Through the Michigan First-Time Home Buyer Savings Account
The Acme Township Planning Commission held a housing discussion and expressed an intention to move forward with the allowance of ADUs in Acme Township. Antrim County is anticipating grant awards to come through very soon for the construction of high-speed internet in Antrim County. And lastly, make sure to promote the Michigan First-Time Home Buyer Savings Account to help your clients, family, and friends save towards homeownership in Michigan!
1. Acme Township Planning Commission Expresses Intent to Allow ADUs to Increase Housing Options
At the August 14th Acme Township Planning Commission Meeting a housing discussion was held with a focus on Accessory Dwelling Units (ADUs) led by John Iacoangeli with Beckett & Raeder. All Acme Township Planning Commissioners expressed that they would like to see ADUs developed in the Acme Township community, however, there were a few conditions that should be included in an ADU ordinance. Conditions expressed were:
- An owner occupancy requirement, the owner should be at the property in which an ADU is located at least 6 months out of the year.
- There should be dedicated off-street parking for the correct number of vehicles (I assume this would mean for the primary residence and any renters of an ADU) that will reside there.
- Meet all the setbacks and height requirements within the ordinance.
- ADUs need to be of a similar architectural style as the primary residence.
- Have a yearly cap of ADUs (I assume this would be an annual cap on permits) which the Acme Township Planning Commission decided should be set at 5 ADUs a year.
Unclear from the Acme Township Planning Commission minutes what the next steps in this process will be. Information will be shared here in the GAD Top 3 as it becomes available.
2. Antrim County Expecting Grant Awards for Broadband Very Soon!
The Antrim County Board of Commissioners Administrator’s Report for their September 7th meeting (page 60) mentioned that the National Telecommunications and Information Administration (NTIA) awarded a $61 million grant to Peninsula Fiber Network (PFN) to improve high-speed internet access which was initially announced in June. This funding will be used to place 535 miles of new middle-mile fiber through underserved and unserved communities across Michigan, including overland fiber routes connecting Charlevoix to Grayling (through Antrim), as well as undersea routes between Charlevoix to Beaver Island to Gulliver in the Upper Peninsula, Benton Harbor to Chicago, and additional overland fiber routes from Port Huron to Flint and Benton Harbor to Grand Rapids. Additionally, Truestream has received Initial Grant Recommendation status for the ROBIN (Realizing Opportunity with Broadband Infrastructure Networks) grant application, including projects in Antrim County. ROBIN is a high-speed internet last mile and middle mile infrastructure competitive grant program with $238M in project funds from the US Treasury as part of the Coronavirus Capital Projects Fund. Hopefully, there will be more to report soon on the progress of bringing high-speed internet to Antrim County!
3. Promote How Your Clients Can Save for Homeownership Through the Michigan First-Time Home Buyer Savings Account
Michigan REALTORS has produced a video you can share with clients, family, and friends on the Michigan First-Time Homebuyer Savings Account (FHSA) program. The FHSA is a Michigan Income Tax savings vehicle activated on February 9, 2022 when Governor Gretchen Whitmer signed into law Public Act 5 and Public Act 6 of 2022 and activated for tax filing with Michigan Income Tax Form 5792 which allows individuals to claim a tax deduction for contributions, and interest earned by the account, made in tax years 2022 through 2026 to a first-time home buyer savings account (less qualified withdrawals made from the same account) up to a total deduction of $5,000 on a single return or $10,000 for a jointly filed return.
Michigan REALTORS also has this helpful infographic you can share with your clients, real estate network, and on social media. All of the Michigan FHSA program resources are located at firsthomemichigan.com.
