How to create more housing | News, Sports, Vacancies

Michigan leaders complain about high housing costs, but Muskegon city planners are doing something about it.

Housing provider regulations result in higher costs and poorer outcomes. Getting permits extends the time it takes to build more housing, leaving cities stuck with older properties for longer periods of time. Building codes and environmental regulations are too strict while also failing to provide safety and environmental benefits. Parking requirements and minimum home and lot sizes drive up costs for no reason.

These and other zoning rules make it illegal or impossible to build affordable apartments in many parts of Michigan.

Costs and services are not the only reasons people leave Michigan or choose not to move to communities throughout Michigan, but they are among the areas lawmakers can influence.

People want lower costs and quality services.

Achieving this means governments must focus on spending money effectively and not overspending.

Lower taxes and fewer regulations reduce costs. Regulation increases costs. If regulation actually leads to better results, it may be worth it. But legislators are rarely interested in measuring the actual effects of their rules.

Instead, state legislators are proposing only one solution: subsidizing demand.

Michigan taxpayers currently pay between $150,000 and $300,000 per unit in subsidies to select nonprofits and developers to build or renovate apartment buildings. These organizations create only a small part of what the market wants.

Michigan leaders would have better luck increasing supply if they focused on cutting the vast amount of unnecessary regulations.

The Muskegon Planning Commission hopes to do just that.

Specifically, the commission recommends that the city:

∫ reduce the number of zoning categories from three to one,

∫ allow the construction of duplexes, triplexes and additional houses on plots that are currently detached houses,

∫ relax design requirements to make it easier for owners to convert single-family homes into apartment buildings,

∫ and only one parking space per dwelling unit is required.

City officials and planners across Michigan say they want more housing to attract more workers, especially younger workers who can only afford smaller houses and apartments.

They need to put their words into action by allowing builders to build and people to buy the types of homes they want.

Jarrett Skorup is vice president of marketing and communications for the Mackinac Center for Public Policy.

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