For the First Time Ever, State Officials Say Michigan Is Working On a 5-Year Housing Plan
The goal is to ensure that all Michiganders have access to a safe, affordable and quality place to call home.
The Michigan State Housing Development Authority (MSHDA) has assembled an advisory council of more than 30 members from organizations across the state to help create a five-year housing plan. This will be the first plan of its kind for Michigan.
“Together, the efforts of this council and the first-ever housing plan for Michigan will lay the foundation for how we, as a state, ensure everyone has an affordable, accessible, and welcoming place to call home,” said Lt. Gov. Garlin Gilchrist, II in a statement from MSHDA.
“It’s a big deal,” says Detroit Future City CEO Anika Goss, a member on the advisory council. Goss says many other states already require housing plans. “It’s really a strategic plan where you can develop North Star goals and visions for what it is that you want to achieve, as well as concrete objectives that you can then measure and be held accountable to.”
Click on the audio player above to hear what Detroit Future City CEO Anika Goss would like to see included in the plan.
The committee will create a plan that looks at housing from a panoramic view, says Bridging Communities Executive Director Phyllis Edwards, another member, “not just housing and creating housing, but in looking at needs, everything from homelessness, to low income, to multifamily … every gambit.”
The council includes representatives from a diverse group of organizations including the Inter-Tribal Council of Michigan, Disability Network Southwest Michigan, the Ruth Ellis Center, bankers, real estate agents, contractors, urban planners and more.
“Housing serves as the cornerstone to every community—impacting numerous other social and economic concerns such as health, educational achievement, and access to employment,” said MSHDA Acting Executive Director Gary Heidel in a statement. “With every stakeholder in the housing industry working together through this Council, MSHDA aims to identify and implement solutions that will result in meaningful changes at the individual, community, regional, and state levels.”
The committee met for the first time in February. Public input will be sought March through the end of May.
Trusted, accurate, up-to-date
WDET is here to keep you informed on essential information, news and resources related to COVID-19.
This is a stressful, insecure time for many. So it’s more important than ever for you, our listeners and readers, who are able to donate to keep supporting WDET’s mission. Please make a gift today.
