A bipartisan group of Michigan lawmakers is introducing legislation they say would make it easier to build new homes in the state.
Among other things, the bills would allow duplexes in single-family residential areas, lower the minimum size for housing units, and reduce lot size requirements for single-family homes.
State Representative Joseph Aragona (R-Clinton Twp) said over-regulation has made the cost of building homes too expensive, in turn pricing people out of the housing market.
"The fact of the matter is we have a housing issue, right? If we want to see the next generation, our kids’ grandkids being able to afford a new home, we’ve got to start putting them on the market. Last I checked, we’re not making any more land. So, we have to figure out how to put more housing on the market where we can,” Aragona said during a press conference near Lansing on Tuesday.
Aragona and other supporters Tuesday said developers often pay tens of thousands of dollars to meet regulations, before factoring in the price of construction itself.
While the bills have bipartisan support, that backing isn’t guaranteed from local government groups.
Jennifer Rigterink is assistant director for state and federal affairs with the Michigan Municipal League.
Rigterink said lawmakers were making somewhat of a strawman argument with their bills. She said local rules only play a relatively small part in housing costs.
“I don't know how taking away that local decision-making in local reform, you know, process will produce more housing or make more housing opportunities and make things more affordable,” she said in an interview.
Ringterink noted different local governments have already put some of the proposals in place. For example, she said Grand Rapids already allows accessory dwelling units, like carriage houses, to be built on single-family properties.
She argued the changes proposed by state lawmakers would address deeper issues with getting projects off the ground, like financing.
Last year, the Michigan Municipal League partnered with some state lawmakers for its own bipartisan housing proposal. That plan, dubbed the MI Home Program, involved spending $160 million in state money to help with project financing.
Rigterink said that money would go much further than the proposed plan alone.
“The reason it's so difficult is because, with our current incentive packages, there's still issues with financing. There's still a gap when it comes to the cost of the project and then making it affordable or attainable for individuals and families to be able to rent or own,” Rigterink said.
The bill sponsors, however, said creating some extra uniformity among zoning laws would still take care of a chunk of the problem.
“We can’t subsidize our way out of this. The state of Michigan can’t afford that. What we need from locals is to allow people to build housing and allow people to buy housing, and so we look forward to working together in that way,” state Representative Kristian Grant (D-Grand Rapids) said.
In total, there are nine bills in the package. Aragona said he expects to hold a hearing on the first few of them this week.
